Community is Life Saving!

Building and supporting community is life saving and takes time and effort! Start today!

Building community

As I am packing my bags to head to DC to advocate for those living with neurologic diseases and those supporting them, it makes me pause and think about the power of community. I am attending an event called Neurology on the Hill with the American Academy of Neurology. Many Neurologist and Advanced practice nurses head to DC to meet with their Senator or Reps staffers, their team. We walk to all their offices on the hill and right behind us are the family docs, surgeons or the insurance companies. Our system is based on the community sharing with their government representative what is happening in their community, how are things going, what is going well and what needs attention? As a Neurologist we share stories of our patients’ challenges; getting tests paid for, getting medications approved and advocating for a brighter day of more research and opportunities for Brain health and wellness for all. The staffers have told us in the past that there are thousands of bills that they have to review and make decisions on to meet the needs of their community and when we share personal stories, this helps them understand the impact of the issue and makes it “real”.

Community building personally and professionally is also important for professional wellbeing and flourishing. I recently partnered with Ivory Howard, an exercise specialist, where I shared 6 brain tips for busy professionals and she lead us through restorative movement desk exercises so we can take that much needed break in our busy work day. The paradox of rest in the work day is a hard thing to wrap your brain around. We had a wide range of ages on our webinar, 24 year old to to almost 60! We all were looking for similar things, community, understanding and new strategies to feel valued, cared for and focused. We reviewed the difficulties at work, the long hours, the prolonged sitting and the many channels of distractions all day. I also partnered, on my YouTube Channel, with rock star business coaches and founders. Ms. Danielle Marshall, shared her expertise in Business Coaching, DEI, culture building and industrial psychology to help us learn to build inclusive culture so all can thrive and flourish. I also had the opportunity to partner with Shalece Daniels from Detroit and Costa Rica, she is a Business Coach, Business owner, retreat planner and author who is on a mission to help business owners see the value of travel and rest to clear your head to actually grow your business to new levels. The paradox of rest and focus was a strong theme this week.

As I head to DC to meet our governmental team and share the stories of my patients and others living with neurologic diseases, I will focus on the role of community. We are all in this together. The more we learn from each other, the better off our communities will be. We all need to share our stories to bring the realities and challenges of the underrepresented to light so they can be addressed. As long as I am able, I will work toward equity and inclusion for those that cannot make it to DC to share their stories. I see more for our community as a whole, the status quo is not OK at present. We all need the tools to achieve the optimal Brain wellbeing so all can lift their own communities with their unique gifts.

Here is a link to help find your Federal, state and local legislators:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

Here is a link to my YouTube channel so you can find these interviews with my amazing guests:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg7lbnRJz9RImUaVG_qMkvQ

PS- Please DM me with your favorite Youtube video!