Cognitive Dynamics

A foundation dedicated to improving quality of life in #dementia and #Alzheimer's through the #expressivearts and #storytelling - @DanielCPotts, Founder

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

Message in a Bottle
—D. Potts
#poetry #alzheimersawareness #neuroarts #expressivearts #caregiving #alzheimersandbrainawarenessmonth

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Health Awareness Month. Today, I’m remembering my parents, Ethelda and Lester Potts, both of whom bravely fought their battles with Alzheimer’s disease. And I’m remembering one of the important things they taught me: in all the relationships you’re blessed to have in your life, be they brief or be they lasting, after every interaction, to always try and leave people better than you found them. —Photo from the Caring Days Walk to Remember in 2007. #alzhehimersandbrainawarenessmonth #dementia #caregiving #personhood #lifelessons

[Alzheimer's Association @alzassociation]

Take action during Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month!
💜 Go purple and tell your story using #ENDALZ
🧠 Take the (re)think your brain 6-Step Challenge
🎁 Make a gift
💰 Become a fundraiser
🤝 Volunteer your time
📣 Tell Congress to act
Learn more: https://t.co/DoYmIZCxvN.

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

“Light a Candle”
-D. Potts, with art by Lester E. Potts, Jr., an artist who had Alzheimer’s #lesterslegacy #bringingarttolife

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

A Mindful, Musical Walk with Me

This is a 20-minute video of original photographs and music through which you are invited to join me for a mindful walk through some places I have been, accompanied by some melodies I have heard as I have walked. You are welcome to use it as a gateway to your own mindfulness practice, if you’d like. Additionally, I hope that care partners of persons who are living with dementia will feel free to make this video available to them, as well as yourselves, either as a means of facilitating a peaceful relational experience, or perhaps as a means of brief respite. The neurological, psychological, and general health benefits of mindfulness, nature experiences, and the expressive arts are exciting and well established, and I believe there are spiritual benefits, as well. Enjoy!

https://t.co/lOCmghVS94

#mindfulness #photography #music #expressivearts #bringingarttolife #neuroarts #lesterslegacy #peace #caregiving #carepartnership #alzheimers #dementia #neuroscience #neuroplasticity #songwriting #hiking #expressivearts #health #healing #neurology #nature #naturephotography #meditation #prayer #spirituality #travel #exercise #brainhealth

[Beth Frates MD @BethFratesMD]

Meditation has many benefits for body, mind and soul.🙏

#Meditation #ThinkBigSundayWithMarsha #SundayThoughts

[Francisco Ribeiro @fraveris]

Carpe Diem

Peter Lundqvist ph.

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

Neurology and Psychology: A Total Brain Approach

Neuroplasticity denotes the brain’s ability to “reconfigure the signaling connections between neurons. Neuroplasticity can help the brain physically recover after injury, but it also allows for healing emotional trauma and functioning of signaling between the brain and the rest of the body.”

“Mindfulness, meditation, gratitude exercises, and visualization help ‘rewire’ the brain, and these changes can help patients process traumatic memories or reduce the negative physical effects of stress. Neuroplasticity also helps to enhance the brain’s resilience to cognitive decline, which is why it can be so helpful for patients with dementia to keep their minds active with hobbies, continued learning, and social connections.”

https://t.co/9d1aYkCHZM

#neuroplasticity #neurology #psychology #resilience #brainhealth #mindfulness #gratitude #dementia #alzheimers #PTSD #stress

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

#storytelling #listening #art

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

The story of Lester Potts, the art he created in the throes of dementia, and the empathy-building, intergenerational expressive arts program developed in his memory…

https://t.co/khNkgDpn77

#bringingarttolife #lesterslegacy #alzheimers #dementia #neuroarts #caregiving #carepartnerships #cultureofcompassion #empathy #intergenerational #batl

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

#poetry #photography #personhood #alzheimers #dementia

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

I Will Love You
(Words, music, keyboard, and vocals—D. Potts)
For the care partners
https://t.co/6ZsRZlXoD9
#carepartners #caregivers #alzheimers #dementia #poetry #neuroarts

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

Beholding the Person

“Thomas Aquinas identifies radiance or claritas as a key criterion of beauty: the splendor of an object that makes its inner essence intelligible. A psychiatrist recently told me that this concept aptly describes where she finds beauty in her work, in moments when she recognizes the flickers of personhood that illness can’t erase – the brief glances and gestures when her client’s true personality shines through. It’s not the clarity of order or perfection, but that of beholding the person beneath the symptom. And it’s truly something to delight in.”
—Brandon Vaidyanathan
(Photo by D. Potts)
#personhood #beauty #photography #endthestigma #invisibledisabilities

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

I Make This Pledge
—D. Potts
#poetry #photography #dementia #alzheimers #personhood

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

For Mother’s Day, in memory of my mother, Ethelda Oaks Potts, I’m sharing this original song: “Mama.”
#mothersday #poetry #mothers #mindfulness #songwriting

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

Come on out to the Kentuck Museum in Northport tomorrow for Art Night! And while you’re there, we’d love to have you attend my talk at 5:45 pm!

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

#caregiving

[Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN @DanielCPotts]

Photo by D. Potts
#photography