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THRIVING MINDS PODCAST

Do you want to learn how to build resilience, boost your cognitive performance, and achieve mental agility? Then it’s time to discover the exciting world of brain health and fitness with Thriving Minds. Hosted by renowned neuroscientist Professor Selena Bartlett, Thriving Minds is a podcast dedicated to exploring the latest advances in brain science education.

With decades of experience studying addiction, stress, and mental health, Professor Bartlett is a true expert in her field. And she’s on a mission to empower people to take control of their mental and physical well-being. So what makes Thriving Minds so unique?

It’s not just about theory – it’s about practical tips and simple tools that you can use to improve your brain health and fitness right now. From understanding how stress wires the brain, the power of cold exposure, nutrition and exercise and connection.

Thriving Minds is also a deep dive into cutting-edge brain science and digital technology. From neuroplasticity to brain imaging, Professor Bartlett and her team are at the forefront of this rapidly evolving field. They’re exploring the latest research and innovations and sharing their insights with listeners around the world.And the best part?

Let’s make brain health everyone’s business. They’re inspiring people to take action and create a culture of mental fitness, where people prioritise their brain health as much as their physical health.

Tune in to the podcast and discover the secrets of brain health and fitness. Whether you’re looking to boost your cognitive performance, reduce stress, or improve your overall well-being, Selena and her team are here to help you thrive.

The opinions expressed in the podcast are Selena Bartlett’s personal opinion and her guests. They are for general informational purposes only and do not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, psychology or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The opinions in the podcast do not reflect the opinion of Queensland University of Technology.

Copyright: © 2022 THRIVING MINDS

Latest Episodes:

Episode #123. The Empty Cradle: Unplanned Childlessness with Sarah Roberts, Founder and Counsellor. Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Sarah Roberts welcomes you to come and sit by the fire and tell your precious story. She founded the Empty Cradle as a grief counsellor to help others find opportunity from unplanned childlessness.
In this episode, we will explore the journey of Sarah Roberts, who transformed her grief of unplanned childlessness into an opportunity to help others.

The desire to have a child is a natural and common aspiration for many people. However, sometimes life does not turn out as planned, and some individuals find themselves unable to conceive or carry a child to term. This experience is known as unplanned childlessness and can evoke profound grief and loss.

Sarah had always assumed that having children would be part of her life, but infertility issues derailed that dream and she tried for 10 years to conceive. She was devastated by the loss and the realization for a time.

There is a narrow fertility window, with peak fertility being 24 years old. After the age of 30, the chances of conceiving a child decrease by 50% significantly.

Sarah's experience is not uncommon. Many more individuals are now facing the challenge of unplanned childlessness. The grief and loss associated with these experiences can be intense, leading to feelings of isolation, despair, and shame.

However, Sarah's journey shows that there can be an opportunity for growth and transformation in the face of adversity. She decided to channel her energy and emotions into helping others who were going through similar struggles. She started a support group for individuals experiencing infertility and unplanned childlessness, which provided a safe and nurturing space for people to share their stories, feelings, and experiences.

Sarah's journey highlights the importance of community and support in times of crisis. It also underscores the power of resilience and courage in the face of loss and adversity. Her story is a testament to the human capacity for healing, growth, and transformation.

It is worth noting that while the fertility window is a reality, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to family planning. Sarah Roberts' story is an example of how one person turned her pain into a source of healing and support for others. The fertility window is a real consideration, as we navigate a world where there is a large rise in unplanned childlessness.
Link here to learn more about Sarah Roberts and her work.
https://www.theemptycradle.com/home.html

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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

Episode #122. Power of Sweat. Physical activity is 1.5x more effective than medications and counselling for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress. Dr Ben Singh, Research Fellow, UniSA. Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Why don't we want to use the cheapest tool known to prevent and improve mental health disorders?
Dr Ben Singh is a research fellow at the University of South Australia and recently published a paper in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, that is the most comprehensive to date, encompassing 97 reviews, 1039 trials and 128,119 participants. It shows that physical activity is 1.5x more effective than medications and counselling and is extremely beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress.
"Physical activity is highly beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress across a wide range of adult populations, including the general population, people with diagnosed mental health disorders and people with chronic disease. Physical activity should be a mainstay approach in the management of depression, anxiety and psychological distress"

The reality, according to the World Health Organization, one in every eight people worldwide (970 million people) lives with a mental disorder. Poor mental health costs the world economy approximately $2.5 trillion each year, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030. In Australia, an estimated one in five people (aged 16-85) have experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months.

Why is this not a public health campaign to educate about the health benefits of exercise in the community?

Dr Ben Singh are calling for exercise to be a mainstay approach for managing depression as a new study shows that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counselling or the leading medications. They have found that all types of physical activity (PA) and exercise are beneficial, including aerobic exercises such as walking, resistance training, Pilates, and yoga.
Start small, like walking around the house and standing instead of sitting. Move move move. It has been shown that 150 mins a week are optimal. Or around 30 mins a day for 5 days. "Despite the evidence for the benefits of PA, it has not been widely adopted therapeutically. Patient resistance, the difficulty of prescribing and monitoring PA in clinical settings, as well as the huge volume of largely incommensurable studies have probably impeded a wider take-up in practice" Dr Singh.

It is hard to start something new, like exercising.
"Physical activity is known to help improve mental health. Yet despite the evidence, it has not been widely adopted as a first-choice treatment. Our review shows that physical activity interventions can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in all clinical populations, with some groups showing even greater signs of improvement. Higher intensity exercise had greater improvements for depression and anxiety, while longer durations had smaller effects when compared to short and mid-duration bursts. We also found that all types of physical activity and exercise were beneficial, including aerobic exercise such as walking, resistance training, Pilates, and yoga.

Importantly, the research shows that it doesn't take much for exercise to make a positive change to your mental health."

Dr Ben Singh has PhD in physical activity and public health and is currently a research fellow at the University of South Australia. His research focuses on evaluating the physical and mental benefits of exercise in various populations, with a background in exercise for individuals with cancer.
https://people.unisa.edu.au/Ben.Singh
Link to the paper here.
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2023/03/02/bjsports-2022-106195

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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

Episode #121. The vital sign you will live longer, how well can you navigate a Figure-of-8-Walk (F8W) Test? Dr Jennifer Brach, University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health. Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Every 11 seconds, an older adult is admitted to the emergency room due to a fall, and every 19 minutes, a fall-related death occurs. We focus on what we eat, exercise, and relationships and connections. We think about preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and dementia to have longer healthier lives. However, falling is the most prevalent and expensive issue facing people.

Falls are the primary cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries in those aged 65 and over, as reported by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the previous year, 27.5% of older adults experienced a fall, and 10.2% suffered an injury related to the fall, according to data from 2018.

Recent studies have shown that subtle changes in walking ability, such as slowing down or increased variability, can significantly increase the risk of falls, and mobility issues, and even lead to nursing home placement or death. However, many clinical measures of walking ability only assess straight-path walking, while daily activities in the home and community often require curved-path walking skills, such as walking around furniture or navigating street corners. By focusing on these critical aspects of walking ability, Jennifer's research offers new insights into effective strategies for fall prevention in older patients.

The financial consequences of falls are also substantial, it is anticipated that this expense will rise over time, with estimates indicating it will reach $101 billion by 2030.

On the move is an evidence-based fall prevention program developed by Dr Jennifer Brach that offers simple, cost-effective interventions by reducing or eliminating known risk factors, offering treatments that promote behaviour change, and leveraging community networks.

In addition to physical harm, falls can also result in psychological harm such as fear of falling, which can be overwhelming and lead to physical decline, depression, and social isolation. While the leading causes of death for people over 65 may be related to ageing, it's important to remember that many of these conditions can be prevented or managed with healthy lifestyle choices and medical treatment.

In the field of fall prevention for older patients, there is a wealth of ongoing research focused on developing effective strategies to reduce the risk of falls. Jennifer's research specifically explores the complex motor skill of walking, which involves intricate interactions between brain and body systems to walk and rapidly adapt to changes in conditions and intent.

Navigating everyday life environments requires creating an internal (mental) map of the environment, planning the path and executing the walk (eg, walking through a grocery store, walking to a table to be seated in a restaurant). As such, daily life walking even without objects to carry or signals to respond to is, by nature, a dual-task or even multi-task activity. Dr Brach and her team developed Figure-of-8 Walk Test (F8W), that combined curved-path walking and navigation to better test the complex walking abilities necessary for independence in daily walking activities.

"On the move" exercise programs where regular physical activity can help improve balance, strength, and flexibility, all of which can reduce the risk of falls. Exercise programs such as Tai Chi, yoga, and resistance training have been found to be particularly effective in older adults.

Learn more about Dr Jennifer Brach's research at
https://www.sph.pitt.edu/directory/jennifer-brach
On the Move: Group Exercise for Improved Mobility in Older Adults®
https://www.onthemove.pitt.edu/about/team/

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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

Episode #120. Navigating Unplanned Childlessness with Stephen Shaw documentary. Birthgap, the population collapse out of view. Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Navigating Unplanned Childlessness. Birthgap, the population collapse out of view.

For many people, the idea of having children is deeply ingrained in their life plans. From a young age, we are taught to aspire to find a partner, settle down, and start a family. But for some, life has a different plan. Stephen Shaw joins us to discuss unexpected findings that there is a 30 per cent increase in people becoming childless without meaning to.

Most think people choose to be childless, it is certainly the case for some and medical issues for others, however, unexpected childlessness affects 80% of people that find themselves in this situation and it leads to difficult and painful realities. This number has escalated in recent decades and is one of the reasons that birth rates are falling across the industrialised World in the documentary film called Birth gap, childless world. It was featured in The New York Chelsea Film Festival and we are going to be talking all about that.

Stephen J Shaw is the creator of the term "Birthgap," which is also the title of his new documentary. Through this work, Shaw explores the complex and largely unnoticed causes behind what he believes to be the most critical issue facing the Western world in the coming decades. Specifically, the documentary delves into the potential consequences of a declining birth rate coupled with an increasing number of elderly citizens living longer. In the worst-case scenario, this could lead to a total collapse of society.

Shaw is a British citizen who has lived and studied on three different continents. He began his career as a computer engineer and data scientist but later turned his attention to filmmaking, producing his first film project, "Birthgap," at the age of 49. He is also the president and co-founder of Autometrics Analytics LLC, a data analytics company. Shaw holds an MBA from ISG in Paris, France, and is currently pursuing further studies at Harvard Extension School.

So, how can you navigate a childless life? We explore this on an important and shocking episode of the Thriving Minds podcast. If you find yourself navigating a childless life, know that you are not alone. According to Stephen Shaw, the reasons for childlessness vary, and the emotional toll can be similar.

Here are some tips to help you cope with and change the future so it is not unexpected: become aware of the fertility window and its impact on delayed childbearing. Many individuals and couples are choosing to delay having children until later in life. While this can be a conscious choice, it can also lead to unintended childlessness because fertility declines with age.
Learn more here: https://www.birthgap.org/feed
Watch the documentary here:
https://www.birthgap.org/spaces/10215679/page

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Episode #119. Become a HEERO™ and make lifelong relationships with Dan Martin, Founder of HEERO and Raven Bartman and Alicia Johnson Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Become a HEERO™ and make lifelong relationships with Dan Martin, Founder of HEERO and Raven Bartman and Alicia Johnson

HEERO™ is a revolutionary practice approach that recognizes the importance of relationships in overall health and wellbeing. Young people with lived experience are providing tools, helping others learn about adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and other to health using networks of people. They haved changed the way people in Canada work with people in child welfare care, juvenile justice programs, or who are otherwise systems involved. HEEROTM connects people with shared lived experiences and fosters an environment where they can empower one another to reach out to their important people. A network they chose, to support them on a path they create.

“Trauma or ACES are not the children’s fault and so responsibility of healing lies with all of us”
Raven Bartman, Senior Staff Peer Navigator, HEERO who overcame four generations of family in the system and helping others to do the same.

Do you want to become a HEERO™ and connect with people who truly understand what you're going through? Look no further, this is a brilliant episode that we can all learn from. Thank-you HEEROs.
Reach out here:
https://heero.ca/

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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

Episode #118. Feeling stuck. Get to know your blind spots with Daniel Mate, Co-Author of the Myth of Normal with Dr Gabor Mate. Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

Are you stuck? Daniel Mate, co-author of “The Myth of Normal” calls these blind spots that we get a lot of benefit from. He asks, do you really want to change?

Have you ever said that you want change in your life but still find yourself stuck in the same old habits and thought patterns? You're not alone. Daniel Mate, the co-author with his father Gabor Mate of the Myth of Normal, discusses what it was like writing this book with his father and his role in bringing it to life. He discusses that once you identify these benefits of staying stuck, you can work on letting them go and embracing the unknown. Only then can you start making the changes you say you want? Many of us have blind spots that keep us from making the changes we say we want.

Daniel asks us to be honest with ourselves. He discusses core blind spots -we say we want to see the truth, but we insist on a version of things that keeps us stuck. Parts of us are comfortable being stuck. We get to blame others, feel helpless, distract ourselves, and not face how much we care. Transformation and letting go of some part of our point of view can be scary, even if it holds out the prospect of freedom. That's because, with freedom, anything can happen. We must face the unknown and take responsibility for our choices. It's easier to stay stuck and blame others than to take a risk and make a change.

The Myth of Normal by Gabor and Daniel Mate offers a new perspective on society and health. Today, we often overlook things that are harmful to our health and have become normalized. To bring these harmful things into the foreground and make people see them, Mate believes that it's essential to approach people with compassion, but also with straight talk. They invite readers to examine their perspective on society and health and see if it fits. He challenges readers to overhaul their perspective radically. Mate talks about collaborating with his father on the book. He had to learn how to approach people and court them into coming along with him to examine things from a new perspective. He also had to recognize that people are attached to their illusions and that it's difficult to let them go.

"The Myth of Normal" challenges readers to examine their perspective on society and health and invites them to see things from a new perspective. It encourages readers to let go of their illusions and recognize the things that are harmful to their health.
Link to Daniel Mate
https://www.danielmate.com/

Take a walk with Daniel Mate
https://www.walkwithdaniel.com/what-is-it

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Episode #117. Breaking Together: The Power of Connection told through the epic story of Joey Fry, the star of the documentary film, "The Great Separation". Feb 22, 2023

Show notes

I recently had the pleasure of being part of a documentary film called "The Great Separation," a powerful portrayal that explores the impact of disconnection, social media, and lost community on our lives.

At the center of the film is Joey Fry, who gives an incredible performance as the lead character. Fry plays a young man struggling to navigate a world where social media and technology have become our primary means of communication. But as he begins to feel more and more isolated, leading to a wake call that begins his journey he of self-discovery that ultimately leads her back to the community he thought he had lost forever.

"The Great Separation" is a thought-provoking and deeply moving film that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt disconnected or alone in today's world. And with Joey Fry at the helm, it's a true tour de force that will leave you breathless.

It is brain health awareness week and connection is one of the themes, this episode will inspire you, and ultimately break your heart in the best possible way.

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Episode #116. Join the brain health challenge and nurture your future health. Learn the three ways to participate Feb 20-24th with Dr Julie Fratantoni, Center for Brain Health. Feb 11, 2023

Show notes

NURTURE YOUR BEAUTIFUL BRAIN.

We eat right to protect our bodies; we exercise to strengthen our hearts and muscles – it’s time to create a wellness plan for our brains.

Getting started is easy! Follow the Link

BrainHealth Week is an annual five-day, interactive experience to inspire healthy-brain habits that can easily become part of our daily routine.

THREE WAYS TO PARTICIPATE

1. Take simple steps to improve your brain health. During BrainHealth Week, we will text you a daily habit to try out, the science behind it, and how it can help improve brain health. Start by signing up for the BrainHealth Week Daily Text Challenge by texting BRAIN to 888-844-8991.

2. Attend events virtually or in person at Center for BrainHealth in Dallas, Texas. We have something for everyone – and it's all FREE! Whether you’re looking for fun family activities or a thought-provoking talk, we have you covered.

3. Follow us on social media to get the latest information.
https://centerforbrainhealth.org/

In this video, Julie Fratantoni, PhD, shares a definition of brain health that focuses on the brain's lifelong potential to get stronger.

https://youtu.be/eSCJUVf_hd8

If you cannot participate in the #BrainHealth Awareness Week. Join the Brain Health Project at www.brainhealthproject.org.

Let’s make brain health become everyone’s business.

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Episode #115 Parent/caregiver-adolescent closeness protects against addiction. Dr Pandey, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

The phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" is often used to emphasize the importance of community and support in the upbringing of a child. It's a reminder that parenting is not just the responsibility of a single individual, but a collective effort that involves everyone in the child's life.
As a parent or care-giver or adult with children, it can be challenging to balance work, household responsibilities, and taking care of our children. However, it's important to remember that children have limited understanding of the world and everything they learn comes from seeing what people around them are doing. Adults have the largest role to play in creating the environment that lead to healthy and thriving children.

When a child lacks the support and guidance of a strong network, they may resort to negative coping mechanisms to try and fill the void. This could involve engaging in risky behaviours, acting out, or even vandalising property and stealing cars to feel a sense of power or control.
One of these is using alcohol to medicate trauma and stress that often lead to alcohol use disorders and addiction. Addiction can have serious negative consequences on a person's health, relationships, and overall well-being. As a caregiver, you play a crucial role in helping prevent the development of alcohol use disorders.
Dr Pandey, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University that recently published a paper showing that positive parenting/ caregiving environments offers a protective effect on adolescents brain development, neurocognitive function, risk, and resilience for alcohol use disorder (AUD) via both genetic and socio- environmental factors.
Children who experience poor parenting tend to have atypical brain development and greater rates of alcohol problems. Conversely, positive parenting can be protective and critical for normative development of self- regulation, neurocognitive functioning and the neurobiological systems subserving them.
Link to the paper here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36680783/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acer.14973?saml_referrer

The take home message is that it is important to understand that everyone in the Society has a role to play, regardless of their age, gender, or social status. A parent, caregiver, police, doctor, teacher, a coach, a neighbor, a grandparent, or a friend can all have a significant impact on a child's life that protects against addiction.
Research shows that adult behaviours are the most important in shaping children's behaviour and in the effective development of their brain architecture, functions, and capacity. Across several studies, exposure to childhood maltreatment and poor-quality parenting and care-giving has been correlated with global changes in brain development as well as changes in circuitries that support higher-level emotional and cognitive functioning (Bick & Nelson, 2016; Teicher et al., 2016).

It is hard for one person to take care of the health of children. It's essential that the we all step up and takes an active role in the life of a child/adolescent. This can include things like volunteering at schools, mentoring, or simply lending an ear when a child needs someone to talk to. Providing a safe and supportive environment where a child can grow and develop is crucial for their future success.

Embracing the idea of "it takes a village to raise a child," we build stronger communities and create a brighter future for the next generation.

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Learn more at www.profselenabartlett.com

Episode #114. Healing from childhood experiences (ACES). Dr Robert Anda MD. Pioneer of the ACES study. The public health crisis we turn away from. If the transmission was stopped the world is changed. Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

The true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children” – Nelson Mandela.

Imagine knowing that the maltreatment of children and adolescents, or adverse childhood experiences (ACES) can lead to addiction and mental health disorders. The public health crisis can be diverted by learning you have the power to stop the transmission of ACES by seeing them in your life and then helping yourself and others to heal from ACES through compassion, education, and neuroplasticity.

This is the groundbreaking work of Dr Robert Anda who is one of the pioneers of the adverse childhood experiences (ACES) study who joins us on episode #114 of the Thriving Minds podcast. Dr. Anda is a world reknown medical doctor for his research with Dr Vincent Felitti showing that ACES are underlying causes of medical, social, and public health problems. While working at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention they led the large-scale study to track the effects of childhood trauma on health throughout the lifespan. They called it the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study). This study fundamentally re-shaped our understanding of the underlying causes of addiction and mental health disorders.

Dr Anda discusses the ‘Aha’ moment when he saw the data collected from the ACES study demonstrating how common abuse and neglect of children and adolescents. This is something that can be stopped through knowledge and education because most parents love their children, but Society did not know any better. Now we tend to take people with ACES and make them worse. ACES are like tumbleweed that grow over the lifespan, piling adversity on adversity- from children to adults across the lifespan. Compassion and education are powerful ways to change the point of transmission of ACES from blame and shame and fear to hope, healing and neuroplasticity. Learn how to understand the power you have to change biology of others? Please join us on this illuminating podcast that may shift your understanding of yourself and your loved ones and what we can do differently as a society.

“How do we get this information to everyone so that they can have a change moment. And, and have their own flashlight looking into the dark cave of what's around them or in their own life that they've been afraid of or didn't know enough to ask the questions. There are many things that I've learned when I saw the ACE study data, the main one is that ACES add up over time and so does the risk for all kinds of mental health disorders. We need to scale this information public health side that involves public education of professionals” Dr Robert Anda MD.

Link to Dr Anda's work

https://robertandamd.com/

Link to the ACES interface:
Building Self Healing Communities

https://www.aceinterface.com/Robert_Anda.html

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