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Getting Back to Work
Returning to work after a medical leave can feel intimidating. Several questions may be running through your mind...Am I ready? What if my headaches get worse again? What if I make mistakes? How am I supposed to function at a high level all day? How will I manage work and my home life?
There is really no way to know for sure how your brain and body will handle the transition. Chances are, during a leave from work you haven’t been taxing your brain or body the way you did when you were working an 8-hour day. Your physician may advise you to gradually increase your work hours, or have breaks scheduled throughout the day. It’s only natural that when you first return to the work environment you will be tired. The good news is that there are ways you can prepare your body and mind for this change.
At least 2-3 weeks before you are due to return, start gradually adjusting your bedtime and wake up time earlier or later to suit your work schedule. Try to make sure you are getting 8 hours of sleep. If you have been napping, it’s time to phase it out.
Ask your therapists for strategies for managing headaches or pain during the day. Will adjusting your computer monitor help your neck? Will icing your neck periodically help your headaches?
Think about all the tasks or errands you will need to fit into your life after returning to work. You will no longer have all day to complete these tasks. It will be a good idea to build a weekly routine that creates space to complete chores, physical therapy exercises, etc. outside of work hours. You may want to consider meal planning so that you only have to cook a few times a week.
Initially, save harder household tasks for the weekend. You’ll need time to decompress in the evenings.
Remember that nutrition is very important to recovery. If you don’t eat anything until lunchtime, it may be very hard for you to focus. Think about having quick grab-and-go breakfasts at home. If you are not hungry in the mornings, drinking a smoothie may feel easier.
Use lists, calendars, etc. to stay organized.
Take your breaks. A break is not surfing the web for 15 minutes or talking to your coworker. A good break will involve quiet, and perhaps some movement or meditation.
Remember that your providers are there to support you. If you face any struggles as you return to work, be sure to write them down and share.
-Ramya Shyam, MS CCC-SLP
I’m having memory problems: Do I have dementia or am I just getting old?
As a speech-language pathologist who has focused on treating adults with neurological deficits, I hear this question ALL. THE. TIME. It’s understandable that people become very concerned whenever they have changes in their memory, especially if they are in their 60s or older, and dementia is in their family history. And unfortunately, there is no easy answer. But hopefully the information in this blog post will help you to feel more confident in your brain’s abilities.
Let’s take it back a little and think about the brain development of a baby. I have a one-year-old, and although there are still so many things that he cannot do on his own, it’s amazing to watch just how quickly he is learning and making connections. For instance, whether I like it or not, he has figured out the two-step process to open the dog kennel and free his “big brother”. As babies develop, their brains are basically sponges and absorb EVERYTHING. This is one of the reasons that kids need so much sleep. Then they enter school and academic learning begins. Do you remember the show Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? Were those kids actually smarter than the adults? No! But their brains were still holding on to all of the knowledge they learned and haven’t gone through synaptic pruning. That may sound really complex, but it’s basically a process during which our brains get rid of unnecessary information, and it occurs as we grow into adulthood. Synaptic pruning does two things; it makes room for more necessary information, and it allows our brains to be more organized and efficient. For those of you who still aren’t sure you understand, think about this: At some point, I knew all of the countries and capitals of the world. Do I know them now? Nope! My brain realized that I have not accessed that information in a long time, so it got rid of it. Also, it knows how to use Google… After synaptic pruning occurs, your brain gets to focus on the things you really want to be good at, like work tasks, and it lets go of the things that it doesn’t really need.
All of that is to say that at any given point in your life, your brain can do some things better than it could before, but some things not as well as it could before. As you get older, your brain clearly “gets worse” at some things. In fact, peak performance for your brain occurs typically in your 20s or 30s, and then it’s downhill from there. This isn’t meant to make you feel impending doom once you turn 40, merely to let you know that cognitive decline is a normal process. Think of your body like a car. You need more frequent maintenance as the car gets older in order to prevent having to replace the parts. Unfortunately, you can’t replace your brain. You only get one!
So how do you know whether you have dementia, or you’re just getting old? Unfortunately, many of the signs of early stage dementia are also signs of typical age-related cognitive decline, including forgetfulness, trouble concentrating as long as you used to, and difficulty finding the right words. Therefore, it can be very difficult to determine if you have dementia based solely on those symptoms. Other symptoms, however, such as behavior/mood changes or difficulty completing daily tasks (e.g., dressing yourself, getting lost or disoriented in familiar places, etc.) are more a hallmark of some form of dementia or other more serious cognitive issue. Typically, brain imaging, bloodwork, and a cognitive assessment will be used to determine if a dementia diagnosis is applicable, and they will provide valuable information for current treatment options, as well as comparison data for any future testing.
If you are concerned, please schedule an appointment with your physician. Doctors are trained to differentiate between the two and to guide you on your path into aging. (Side note- you should consider seeing a physician who specializes in geriatric medicine.) You may find out that you have some cognitive issues that are related to aging, or there may be neurological issues present . Either way, early recognition is key. The sooner you know, the earlier you can do something about it! Cognitive therapy could be beneficial to learn some strategies to improve and/or maintain your functioning.
A group called Us Against Alzheimers has created a 21-question screening tool that can be used if you are worried about yourself or others in your life (see link below). These targeted questions will help you determine if you/your loved one may be at risk for dementia. This is merely a screener and not a diagnostic tool, but it can help you to determine if and when it’s time to seek a more formal evaluation.
I recently had a discussion with a physician regarding cognitive changes and aging, and I would like to leave you with one final thought that he provided during our conversation: Getting older isn’t for sissies.
If you think you’re having cognitive issues and would like some help, call our office to schedule an appointment with one of our speech-language pathologists, who have spent countless hours specializing in cognitive rehabilitation.
Colorado Brain Recovery 720.644.0893
Us Against Alzheimer’s screener: https://tools.roobrik.com/home/dementia/start?roobrikroute=home
- Hilary Booco, MA CCC-SLP
What is Cognitive Rehab?
Cognitive Rehabilitation, not to be confused with cognitive behavioral therapy, is a treatment usually provided by speech-language pathologists. Don’t let the name of speech-language pathologist fool you, we are also trained in cognition and everything brain related! Cognitive Rehabilitation is NOT computer games like Lumosity, or filling out Sudokus. It is also NOT talk therapy – we do not address any psychological issues. Back to Sudokus and Lumosity. Will those activities hurt you? No. But they definitely don’t help you when you lose your car keys or remember that important conversation you had with your boss. Good cognitive rehabilitation is learning strategies to improve how you perform. Almost like learning tricks for a chess match would help you for your next game, cognitive rehab is learning tools that will help you perform better tomorrow. Do we work on getting areas like memory better? Yes and no. We will teach you all about it, and tell you how to do it but the work will be for you to do. Sitting in our office and memorize word lists that have no meaning to you isn’t the best use of time and resources. Good cognitive rehabilitation is individualized. That means it is tailored to you and what your challenges are. This is why we will always have a job! Lastly, a good cognitive therapist should be able to be fired after a handful of sessions (for most concussions). At this point your tool kit should be full and you should be performing better in your daily life.
To recap, a good cognitive therapist will 1) make you do the work (but not computer games), 2) give you an incredible toolkit to perform better and 3) only see you for a handful of sessions.