Ten simple steps to overcome procrastination

The healthy brain regulates amyloid production so it doesn't accumulate, but this fails in Alzheimer's, and the brain overproduces it. The overproduction of amyloid in the brain is thought by many to be part of the brain's attempt at healing itself gone awry. Current thinking is that as the brain tries to repair itself through increased amyloid production, this failed effort results in amyloid accumulation. The accumulated amyloid sets the stage for later production of tau neurofibrillary tangles, which do most of the damage. The failure of amyloid-clearing drugs in the later stages of Alzheimer's is probably too little too late, so tactics have shifted to trying to clear amyloid earlier in the process. Two major strategies to deal with excess amyloid are preventing amyloid beta fragments from aggregating and clearing aggregates after they've formed. Prevention involves keeping certain brain signals either high or low. Drug traces last for varying periods of time in urine and breath. Many substances are difficult to pick up. For example, alcohol lasts a very short period of time (usually less than twelve hours), while many other substances are detectable for only one to two days. Substituting urine samples is fairly common, and the only way to prevent it definitively is by supervising the sample collection process. Nobody likes this, including the supervisor, and it raises the policing quotient, but if you need certainty, for example if safety is at stake, then supervision is the only way to legitimately go (and this is not something you should consider doing yourself, only through a lab or facility). Sober Companions and Recovery Coaches There has been a recent uptick in people providing these services as an option for supporting abstinence and ensuring safety for a person not in residential (inpatient) care. Sober companions are hired to accompany your loved one throughout her life as a friendly monitor of her positive direction and a wedge against negative behaviors. Sober companions are not police officers or enforcers of any sort; Companions can live with a person in her home for a period of time, providing round-the-clock support. URANUS IN ARIES You have this knack for showing up in places where angels fear to tread. It's like you're irresistibly drawn to conflicts where the people in charge have their foot on the neck of those helpless to oppose them.

Maybe it's executives who abuse their authority, a system that's been rigged for years, or a cultural mind-set in need of some serious updating. In any case, you are here to do something about it. The irony is that you didn't go looking for a fight. There's no code of honor that you subscribe to, no glistening set of principles. You just know a wrong when you see it--which is why even if you're the soft-spoken, button-down type, you still roll up your sleeves and jump into the fray. And this struggle wakes you up to the things you've been missing. It feeds you, motivates you, and educates you. Increasing a substance called alpha secretase keeps amyloid levels low, but so does decreasing levels of beta and gamma secretase. A number of natural substances that either increase alpha secretase or decrease beta or gamma secretase are detailed later in the Diet section. Clearing away amyloids that have already accumulated (taking out the garbage) means ingesting nutrients that can rid the body of this excess. There are a number of natural substances and nutrients that are listed in the Diet section. The tau theory. Neurofibrillary tangles are twisted fibers inside brain cells, formed primarily of tau, which is part of a structure called a microtubule. Microtubules transport nutrients and other substances from one part of a neuron to another. In Alzheimer's, the tau becomes highly phosphorylated, causing the microtubule to collapse, which then becomes highly toxic to brain cells. Tau is responsible for most of the destruction in Alzheimer's. It is the synergistic interaction between amyloid and tau which predicts progression to dementia. Alternatively, companions may be present for a limited number of hours during a week, for key times of high risk like after work or special events. Recovery coaches typically provide less intensive coverage in terms of hours, with the goal of teaching day-to-day skills to help a person remain free from drugs, alcohol, and other self-harming actions or compulsive behaviors (sex, gambling). They can support a client through everyday challenges such as returning to school, work, and family life and help them establish healthier routines.

We call them on-the-ground support. A qualified coach should have a certification from an International Coach Academy or a Recovery Coach Academy. Clients have reported to us that these relationships have helped them stay on track, especially in the early days after Level III rehab treatment, when they may be feeling a bit shaky and uncertain about establishing their new routine. Companions and coaches can also serve as healthy role models for a sober life. The downsides? Sober companion service can be expensive, as high as $1,500 a day or $250 an hour, and is an out-of-pocket expense not covered by health insurance. Clients who have sober companions hired for them might feel intruded upon and policed, which in turn can cause them to lose a sense of their own motivation for change. And once activated, you don't ever want to go back. You're like the rebel who's finally found the right cause. Aries Uranus . Electrifies: Aries Suns with thrills and spills. Gadflies: Taurus and Pisces Suns because it won't let them remain silent. Enlightens: Gemini and Aquarius Suns by making friends and working with people they wouldn't typically meet. Overthrows: Cancer and Capricorn Suns when it tosses caution to the wind. Galvanizes: Leo and Sagittarius Suns by getting them to shake things up. Is anyone's guess with: Virgo and Scorpio Suns by making them agents for change. Sometimes good because once they get started they won't stop, sometimes bad because they don't know when to quit. The number of neurofibrillary tangles is tightly linked to the degree of dementia. The synergistic effects of tau and amyloid work to multiply the destructive effects beyond either one alone. A number of natural plants have this effect, and several do double duty as neurogenic substances.

These are described later in the Diet section. Low levels of acetylcholine. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine is centrally involved in memory. Low levels of acetylcholine have been noted in Alzheimer's patients. The main drugs used in medicine today are those that target a brain chemical that inhibits acetylcholine. These drugs, called cholinesterase inhibitors, have FDA approval and are being taken by millions of patients. Yet recent research shows that these drugs (such as Aricept) not only don't work, they actively make the problem worse by increasing the rate of cognitive decline. Last, to date there are no state regulations for this job title and the business is unregulated--we have heard reports of unprofessional conduct, where companions failed to provide the expected support, or conversely, where clients got more intrusive, threatening support than they wanted. Careful checking and referencing is a must, but a good sober companion can be very helpful early on. Treatment Approaches Separate from setting (where) and intensity (how often) is the type of treatment offered, or treatment approach. For example, one IOP may offer a treatment based on 12-step ideas, while another provides training in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) skills and approaches clients from a motivational perspective. While both may run five days a week, five hours a day, the content will be very different. Does it matter? For a long period of time in mainstream American addiction treatment, when treatment was assumed to be only one thing, no one gave much thought to comparison. Researchers, however, have done the head-to-head comparisons now for forty years, and found that some approaches consistently outperform others. We describe some of the more strongly supported approaches. Opposes: Libra Suns. You see others as pissed off and unreasonable. When Uranus is opposite your Sun sign, you don't connect to its energy naturally, so you always get thrown for a loop until you do.

The best way to harness this energy is to hear what people have to say. You may not agree with all of their gripes, but there's bound to be one or two points worth considering. URANUS IN TAURUS It never fails, the way that life keeps shifting the goalposts. It doesn't matter how hard you work to get things right; You gave up trying to reason with the unreasonable long ago, but what you have come to rely on is your persistence. It doesn't matter how many times you've been cheated or seen high hopes leveled--you always go back to the beginning and start again. By working with the brain, however, the body can naturally and safely produce more acetylcholine though its own mechanisms. There are a number of natural substances that do this described in the Diet section. Excess glutamate. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. Too much or prolonged excitation is toxic to neurons. Problems with glutamate reuptake and recycling in Alzheimer's result in early cell death. Memantine is a medical drug that blocks overstimulation of receptors by glutamate that could lead to excitotoxicity in Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, here again, research shows that the drugs that do this exacerbate the problem and speed up cognitive decline. There are, however, natural ways to calm neural overstimulation that do not block glutamate receptors. See article 3, Holistic Healing of Anxiety. Brief Interventions This category does not involve therapy as we usually think of it, but more time-limited (one- or two- or four-time) interactions that can have a dramatic impact on the direction of a person's behavior. There's strong evidence that brief contacts such as SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) do have an impact.