A Tapestry of Hope: Living Well with MCI
Guest Lynn Ross shares her personal journey with mild cognitive impairment, her professional insights as a social worker, and practical tools for supporting individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Her conversation with Hope Floats host Shoshawna Rainwater offers hope, strategies for adaptation, and ways to foster meaningful connections despite cognitive changes.
Links
Dementia Spotlight Foundation - https://dementiaspotlight.org
Dementia Together - https://dementiatogether.org
Contented Dementia by Oliver James
SPECAL Method- https://contenteddementiatrust.org/what-is-the-specal-method/
In this episode, Shoshawna mentions the Physiological Sigh—a fast, free, and scientifically proven breathing tool you can use to lower anxiety and calm your nervous system in real time.
To do it, take two deep inhales through your nose (one deep breath, followed by a quick "top-off" inhale), and then let out one long, slow exhale through your mouth. Repeating this just a few times immediately slows your heart rate and releases stress.
Want to dive deeper into the research? Check out these credible resources:
Read the Stanford Article: Learn how this breathwork triggers immediate relaxation in this listener-friendly breakdown from Stanford Medicine News.
See the Data: Check out the official 2023 Stanford University study published in Cell Reports Medicine via PubMed. It proves that 5 minutes of daily "cyclic sighing" improves mood and reduces anxiety better than standard mindfulness meditation!
The Brain Biology: Curious about how our brains naturally use this tool? Read how UCLA neuroscientists discovered the exact brain cells responsible for this reflex in the UCLA Newsroom.
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Interview Transcript
DISCLAIMER (00:00)
Hello, Hope Floats listeners. The content of today's podcast is provided for general information and educational purposes only, and does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or other professional advice. Always consult a qualified professional about your specific situation. Now, on with the show.
Shoshawna Rainwater (01:18)
You're listening to Hope Floats, the essential companion for the dementia caregiving journey. Whether you're navigating a new diagnosis or managing the complexities of late stage care, Hope Floats is here to provide the tools and perspective you need to stay centered and even hopeful. I'm your host Shoshawna Rainwater.
As a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience, I've guided hundreds of families through this transition, but I've also walked this path, personally, as a caregiver for my own parent with dementia. I understand the clinical landscape of dementia, the emotional weight of caregiving, and everything in between. I'm so glad you're here. Let's jump in.
Today we have a real treat. I'm interviewing a social worker, Lynn Ross. She does part-time work with a couple of nonprofit organizations in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Lynn worked for the Department of Neurology's Movement Disorder Program at Emory University for many years, and in that role, she provided information, education, and support to individuals living with primarily Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.
She retired in 2017 but got into the retirement experience and realized she really missed the work and missed contributing. This was partnered with some challenges, in that, several years before retirement, Lynn noticed some memory changes that were occurring in her. And as many of us do, attributed those to things other than the possibility of dementia–thought perhaps it could be related to aging or to the stressful work environment that many of us find ourselves in. But when symptoms continued and then increased after retirement, Lynn saw a cognitive neurologist and was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.
So Lynn is joining us today to talk about her experiences as an individual living with mild cognitive impairment and also to talk about the really valuable work that she continues to do to support people who are experiencing dementia and also build understanding with the individuals who are helping care for them. So, Lynn, welcome. We are so happy to have you today.
Lynn Ross (02:57)
Well thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. to have the opportunity to share my experience and my work life, which is very, very important to me. And I'm so blessed that I can continue to work in this space.
Shoshawna Rainwater (03:12)
Yeah, and I realize Lynn, you represent a really unique double perspective of having the clinical expertise of a career social worker and also the lived experience of someone navigating mild cognitive impairment. You spent decades as the social work expert in the room, helping families navigate neurological diagnoses. What was the moment like when you realized your own memory issues weren't related to stress or aging, but something more than that? Tell us about that experience if you're willing.
Lynn Ross (03:51)
Sure. Well when I started out in 2017 at Emory, there were nine movement disorder specialists in the program; when I left there were nineteen and I was the only social worker. So I just really felt like it was the work. I really thought, when I get out of this situation, all of these memory problems. One of the things that really bothered me really more than memory was losing things and not being able to find them. And I know we all say, you know, you can't find your keys or whatever; but this was spending an inordinate amount of time looking for something that was right in front of me, such as paperwork or a phone number or whatever. I knew I'd seen it. But I just couldn't find it. Going through my files, I would have to go through every file trying to find something because I had misfiled it, but didn't notice when I filed it that I was, you know, placing it in the wrong folder.
I just spent so much time that last year, and I thought “this is different. This is not like the usual forgetfulness or misplacing something and not remembering where you had it. This was a little bit more serious.” My mother had been diagnosed with vascular dementia and a grandmother with Alzheimer's and so you know I knew the different symptoms and that type of thing. But this was just a little bit different. So that was one thing that really made me realize after about three months I guess after I retired that it wasn't getting any better. And I needed to see the neurologist and find out what was happening.
Shoshawna Rainwater (05:43)
Yeah, you know, Lynn, many people avoid seeking a diagnosis out of fear. And I'm curious how your background in neurology may have influenced your decision to seek diagnosis.
Lynn Ross (05:58)
Well, I was very lucky that my office was on the side of the hallway with cognitive neurology and I shared an office with the cognitive social worker. So I had a lot of interaction with that department as well as the movement disorders department where I was.
I also–from my beginning in the nursing home–had really found out that dementia was a fascinating thing. I was not afraid of it. I think that's the problem with so many people. They hear the word and they just shut down. “That's it, that's the end.” And I knew from my experience that there were things that could be done, there were programs. And working at a university like Emory, where so much research was being done, that was another plus to me that I knew that people were working on it and you know, there was hope.
Shoshawna Rainwater (06:59)
Yeah. What an interesting vantage point you had that many people don't have. And and when you say nursing home, this was early in the career you were working, that's right, hands-on in a nursing….
Lynn Ross (07:12)
In 1994 I started in a 99-bed nursing home and I had never been around anyone with dementia. That this was totally new. And it was just fascinating to me how sometimes the situations were so totally different from where we were and what we were actually doing. And these people were very convinced that that's what was happening, and I learned early on not to argue.
I went along with some really peculiar situations sometimes; but I found out that was the best way. Just agree and redirect and it'll turn out all right.
Shoshawna Rainwater (07:57)
Really interesting to me because I would say you were pretty immersed at one point in your career in working with individuals with dementia and you reall
Thank you for listening!
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