Halt brain decline - take responsibility

Here is the last tip on reducing the decline of your brain - and it’s a bit different to the others.

It’s about having an ‘internal locus of control’

More help with improving your brain

Locus of control

If you have an internal locus of control you take responsibility for what happens to you. You assume that there is something you can do about your situation.

If you have an external locus of control you think that the problems you have are the fault of others and that your life is determined by fate, so there is nothing you can do about it.

Your brain and locus of control

In the study at Johns Hopkins University on the Harvard Alumni that I referred to in the first of these blogs; this was the fifth factor affecting your cognitive skills in old age.

http://vinehouse-essential.blogspot.com/2012/01/prevent-decline-in-your-brain.html
The internal locus of control is linked to retaining those skills.
In another study, carried out by Dr Rosy Daniel on breast cancer patients, she discovered that there was a big difference in survival rates of the patients who had an internal locus of control and those who had an external locus of control.

I heard her speaking about it at a conference years ago. I can’t remember the exact figures, but I do remember that your chances of surviving 10 years were more than doubled if you had an internal locus of control.
It doesn’t take much thinking to work out why. If you take control and identify what you can do to help yourself get better, it seems much more likely than your health will improve as compared with giving up.

Internal locus of control - good all round

So taking this approach to your life is good for many aspects of your life and also helps you to live longer.

Look out for others

When people get depressed or stressed, they can tend to drop into the external locus of control. You will hear things like: “They did it to me.” “They should do something about it.”

One way to help an individual take control is to ask this question:
“What is your responsibility in this situation?”
Sometimes you may have to wait quite a long time for an answer. But do keep waiting. This question can really help a person to turn their thinking around.

You might want to ask yourself the same question.

Blame

This is not the same as blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong. It’s more about identifying the action you can take to improve matters and achieve your goals.

Five ways to improve your brain

Now you have five ways to improve your brain - use them well so that, when you are retired and in your old age you can enjoy and make the most of it.

Aerobic exercise

Non-aerobic exercise

learning

social activity