”Age Celebrated with Dr Giroux is an online community for older adults exploring new ideas with support and information to help you design your personalized wellness prescription. A presonalized wellness prescription includes the priorities you identify for your health and wellbeing and the steps you will take to achieve your goals.  

At Age Celebrated you will find the information, tools and support delivered to you in a unique way to help you achieve your goals. Our premise is quite simple; start with a shift in mindset- a change in attitude and expectation about older age and getting older. Our focus is on fact not fad, exploration and new possibilities. Our content is unique. Our pledge to you…

• Begin with the understanding that we are all unique individuals and there is no one way to live authentically or in the pursuit of wellness.
• Focus on intentional living that begins with a life philosophy that fuels a lifestyle not the other way around.
• Provide information first and foremost that is factual and based on science and clinical experience not the latest fad or marketing pitch delivering empty promises.
• Strengthen the impact and value of this information with insights gained from the wisdom of years and experience of others.
• Present a holistic, balanced and practical approach to keep it relevant and sustainable.
• Throw out the “aged” ideas of frailty, slowing down, forgetfulness, loss of vibrancy and retirement and replace with resilience, thoughtfulness and intention, inner strength, compassion, relational living, value, meaning and purpose.

Welcome to Age Celebrated. I am so glad you are here and look forwarded to sharing this exploration with you. Now lets Get Started with some general concepts to consider when designing your wellness prescription.

Step 1: Life Philosopy Drives your Wellness Prescription

Each of us brings different experiences, cultural beliefs, personal values, and philosophical approaches that shape what it means to be well, how we approach our health, priorities and self-care. Start by identifying your own approach and use these insights as a way to understand your present lifestyle, activities and beliefs. Use this knowledge as a stepping stone toward intentional living based on your own values and goals. Take inventory and reset biased thinking, reprioritize your actions and define a path forward based on your own true values.

This is not a static concept but a dynamic one that will continue to evolve and change as you gain more knowledge, insights and new life experiences. After all you never stop learning! Continue to challenge and reshape your life philosophy so that it will work for you and your values.

Make this an active part of your involvement with Age Celebrated. Reflect on the insights you have learned and jot down a simple idea, activity or goal that comes to mind (even if it is in disagreement with what you have read as this is after all your own valuable insight) each time you read a blog post, listen to a podcast or engage in an activity that resonates with you.

The following list of questions is designed to “kick-start” your understanding of your own values and philosophy as it relates to your life priorities and care choices:

• Do you believe that the lifestyle choices you make can play a role in your own health and wellbeing?
• What does or would bring true joy, passion or meaning to your life?
• Are you in search of the magic pill or treatment to fix your problems?
• What is your definition of wellness? Is it based primarily on your physical health? Or does it include other attributes and if so, which ones are most important to you?
• Do you tend to think about the experience of age as being associated with themes of loss? Is there room for themes based on wisdom, exploration, compassion, or different priorities or possibilities?
• Do you live in the past and worry about the future? Are there opportunities to live in the moment for today?

• This list is just the beginning. Add your own questions in the comment section at the end of the post.

Photo Credit: DilokaStudio on Freepik

Keep 2: Keep an Open Mind and Lead with the Positive

Begin with an open mind. An open mind is akin to what is referred to as the “beginners mind” in Buddhism. With an open mind you are more likely to find joy, curiosity and possibility in new ideas or concepts and less likely to be dismissive or approach a novel thought with sarcasm before making an effort to learn more. This by no means implies that you should agree with everything or accept something as right for you. Just the opposite, with an open mind you will identify that which is and is not an important fit or of value. With an open mind you will be in a position to fairly assess new ideas or approaches, beginning with the evidence that supports positive (or negative) results, and finally how this fits into your own needs.

By providing a variety of topics and approaches, Age Celebrated gives you a lot to explore and choose from and when chosen, add true value.

Step 3: Make it Achievable and Balanced

Balance is an important to avoid focusing too narrowly on one activity or idea or too broadly on too many. Each day gives us an opportunity to experience something new and approach life with a balance of curiosity, creativity and compassion. Too much of a good thing can also threaten balance. For instance, if your focus and activities are on exercise and fitness, that is a good thing. However, if this is your sole focus, you can miss out on other activities such as dietary choices you can make, stress management, social activities or hobbies that will complement your physical wellbeing. Stress, self-criticism, or even loneliness could increase if a fitness routine is too intense, your selected goals are out of reach or distract you from other important life events.

If you set off to do too much, develop a plan that is too difficult or time intensive you are less likely to succeed. Keep it simple and doable. Start with small steps, gain success and go from there. A pledge to yourself to begin walking 3 times a week for 5-10 minutes is more likely to succeed than a pledge to walk half an hour every day!

Step 4: Think Holistic Brain Health

When healthy, our cells, organs, physical body, mind and spirit function in unison and interdependently. The physiological processes that allow our physical bodies and emotional response to thrive depends upon this.  When illness attacks one organ system, the others are impacted. What is good for one cell is good for another and what is good for one organ is likely good for another. This is the same for health and wellbeing. It just would not work to have a different set of rules for one organ system or disease (for example the heart or diabetes) and yet another for other organ systems or diseases (for example the brain or dementia).   

A brain healthy lifestyle is key to living your best since it not only supports the health of other organs and a healthy body but also focuses on the emotional, cognitive, and spiritual growth to bring joy or meaning. Holistic health is not just a collection of treatments or experiences of mind, body or spirit. It starts first with an understand of how these experiences or themes add meaning to you or others.

This “one size fits all” is admittedly over simplified as there are certainly very specific recommendations that can be made for specific disease. However by understanding the notion that a common set of wellness promoting activities, ideas or themes does exist and can be tapped into for optimal health and wellbeing, we can begin to shape our own thoughts, ideas and actions to match them.

Step 5: Think Relationally

Our actions and experiences do not occur in a void but will influence other relationships, actions or experiences. For example, a decision to start an exercise program can change our thoughts on health and spontaneously lead to changes in dietary habits, or other recreational choices. A walk in the park with a loved one or dog rather than on a treadmill is more than just exercise. It connects us with one another, with nature and beauty, and our community. Even food has its own relationships. A dinner entrée that includes lentils brings an abundance of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals, other health promoting vegetables and grains a  lower carbon footprint (a relationship that is very different than an entrée that includes a hamburger associated with fries).

Step 6: Focus on the Facts

The internet and social media are filled with anecdotal stories promising great results, quick fixes, and wellness secrets. Celebrities and professional influencers sell a fairytale and tell us what we want to hear. Be on the look out for claims that are too good to be true and promise to cure a multitude of problems with one simple fix. Seek out and learn from the wisdom of people with experience.

Step 7: Safety First

A healthy lifestyle takes time, effort and commitment. A quick fix is not always possible and quick or rapid expectations for a desirable result seldom stick. Adopting a new diet or exercise routine that involves dramatic changes without the appropriate guidance can lead to poor results or injury. Learn how to read labels, ask critical questions about claims made, and know the certification and training associated with a treatment, therapy or activity. Once again it is important to involve your health care provider or other professional with decisions that impact your physical and medical health to help you make safe choices.

Step 8: Prioritize Your Self-Care

You could be living with a chronic illness, new symptoms, physical or emotional challenges, have a family history of a medical condition or are simply focused on preventing disease with a healthy lifestyle. There is so much research and advice on the best approaches to take.  This can be overwhelming. Begin by prioritizing what is important to you. Focus on the symptoms or problems you wish to manage.  Follow this with a review of how you are currently treating these symptoms and any new ways or approaches you can use to manage these symptoms.

Don’t forget to include your health care provider to prioritize your focus. Some symptoms may be a priority and require a dedicated focus. For example, depression can impact a person in many ways beyond the emotional since it can affect your self-esteem, confidence, motivation, activity, energy, sleep, relationships and risk of other medical conditions. Focusing on one or two problems is less overwhelming and more likely to result in successful change. Think about how you will focus your actions to combat these problems.

• Will you rely solely on medication?
• Can you commit to life-long results through active lifestyle changes such as exercise, diet, or stress management?
• Who will be involved in your care?
• Are your treatments or actions doable and balanced to include emotional, physical, and social wellbeing?

Step 9: Take your Health Care Seriously

Focus on preventative medicine which includes health care screening. Learn about recommended vaccines, community health and the science behind the recommendations. Partner with your healthcare team, and prepare for your medical visits for best results. Discuss changes in your diet and exercise routing with your healthcare provider to be sure they are the best fit for you, your physical or medical condition. Understand the training and certification that is recommended for a therapist, trainer, nutritionist, or healing therapist you are interested in working with.

Photo Credits: Image by Freepik

Click on the links below for more information on wellness priorities:

What are older adults wellness priorities?

Healthy aging in action