Advocacy for Older Adults: How to Provide Support in the Hospital
Whether a loved one is hospitalized for a planned procedure or an unplanned medical crisis, you may be left feeling helpless and vulnerable. You’re fully trusting the trained medical professionals to satisfy all your loved one’s needs during their hospital stay and to know just what to do to help keep them feeling comfortable. However, […]
Understanding Loss of Appetite in Older Adults
You have just made a huge batch of Mom’s special chili recipe. Your house smells delicious, and you cannot wait to eat. However, while you are delighting in not only the taste but the memories the meal conjures, Mom is simply stirring the food around in her own bowl. And it’s not the first time. […]
Tips for Maintaining Independence for Seniors With Dementia
If you’re caring for a loved one with dementia, you may be inclined to do as much as you can for the person to help ease the stress of even the most basic everyday tasks. Independent living and dementia may even seem like polar opposites. However, each of us has an inherent need to preserve self-reliance […]
Coping With Caregiver Criticism
Don’t do it that way!” “You never…” “I can’t believe you…” As a family caregiver, you work tirelessly and selflessly to provide care for someone you love. What happens when you are giving it all you have, yet your all isn’t good enough? Criticism isn’t easy to hear, but it’s particularly challenging in your role […]
Top Tips for Coping with Dementia Shadowing in a Loved One
Primary caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease are frequently all too familiar with the difficulty of trying to grab a minute or two alone – to use the bathroom, get a quick shower, or even just walk into another room. Those diagnosed with dementia can experience enhanced concern when a family caregiver is out […]
What You Need to Know About a New Medication for a Senior Loved One
You’ve just left the doctor’s office with Mom. The doctor is sending over a new prescription to the drug store which should be ready once you get there. You plan to zip through the drive-through window, grab the medication, and take Mom to lunch. However, you are missing an important step. Whenever a new medication is […]
How to Make Retirement Possible as a Family Caregiver
Providing care for an aging parent is a time-consuming labor of love. It may also influence finances, as family caregivers may elect to take unpaid leave from work, reduce their hours, or stop working altogether. It is not unusual for family caregivers to set aside their long-term financial plans in order to give full attention […]
How Home Care Can Help When Caring for a Loved One While Working
It’s a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, you have your career, which provides you fulfillment, purpose, and of course, a source of income On the other hand, you’re caring for someone you love. Trying to give 100% to these two crucial roles can make you physically and mentally exhausted, with little if any […]
8 Changes in Behavior That May Suggest a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s
You can’t quite pinpoint it, but you’ve started to notice some changes in behavior in Mom recently. She is a little bit more forgetful than before. She keeps misplacing her car keys. Occasionally she repeats herself. Could it be Alzheimer’s disease? Currently, more than 6.5 million people age 65 and older are struggling with dementia, […]
Top Tips to Help Seniors Overcome the Inability to Feel Pleasure in Day-to-Day Living
Following the eventfulness of the holiday season, it’s not unusual for the winter doldrums to emerge. Yet what might appear at first to be a little bit of boredom could in reality be something more serious that needs to be addressed. Anhedonia, is the inability to feel pleasure or enjoy once loved activities and a […]