How to Help Older Adults Live Their Best Lives
As we get ready to roll the calendar forward to 2023, it is the perfect time to ponder what we have learned through the past year and what changes we’d like to make in the coming year. It is more than just making a resolution that’s likely to be given up on within a matter […]
What Is Mild Cognitive Impairment and How Can You Recognize It?
Returning home for the holidays is a wonderful time to make new memories and reminisce together about holidays past. But it’s also a time when people regularly see changes in their elder loved ones – changes which may be too small to detect in the course of a phone call or FaceTime, but become glaringly […]
Helpful Strategies for Dementia Care
Providing dementia care for a loved one can feel as complicated as trying to wrap your mind around the laws of physics. It involves attempting to make sense of what seems nonsensical, and reacting in ways that are counterintuitive to everything you’ve learned up to now. Yet with just a few basic tricks in your […]
Coping With the Emotional Side of Caregiving
As a family caregiver, you’re the rock of your family: coolheaded, unshakable, and calm. No matter the situation, you preserve the sense of peace and solace your family member needs, never wavering, always strong and supportive. Right? If this is the image you have created for yourself, it is time to get real! The truth […]
Tips for Accompanying an Older Loved One to a Doctor’s Visit
When caring for an older family member, there’s always a fine line to walk. You want to provide as much help and support that you can while not crossing the boundaries that protect the person’s self-esteem and personal freedom. It is especially true in relation to doctor’s visits and making important health care decisions. There […]
Do-It-Yourself Sensory Activities Help Decrease Dementia Anxiety and Agitation
Swift changes in moods are hallmark signs of dementia, and can be challenging for family caregivers to handle. One minute you might be taking part in a nice activity together, when apparently out of nowhere, the person’s countenance shifts. With dementia anxiety and agitation, family caregivers may end up walking on eggshells while carefully attempting […]
In-Home Care Offers Pain Management Assistance for Older Adults
Aching. Burning. Stinging. That is the way many older adults with chronic pain express what they live with on a daily basis. Chronic pain may occur anywhere in the body, in some cases for no apparent reason at all. It is defined by pain that continues for more than three months, either nonstop or off […]
Helping an Older Adult Adjust to the Need for a Wheelchair
Aging demands that we get accustomed to more than a few changes. Our children grow up and leave the nest. We may decide to sell the family home and scale back. Retiring from a long-lasting job changes our purpose and goals. And, medical conditions or mobility challenges may lead to the need for a wheelchair. […]
Understanding How Home Health Care Services Help Family Caregivers Find Balance
What does a standard day look like for you as a family caregiver? For many people, it begins before sunrise, helping a senior loved one who has difficulty sleeping through the night and is in need of assistance, or at least someone to talk to. After that, the day could be a flurry of activities: […]
Ideas to Address Senior Medication Refusal
“I’m healthy as a horse. I don’t need that medication.” If you’ve heard an older family member say this or other similar sentiments to rationalize not taking the medication their doctor prescribed, you know how frustrating and concerning it is. There are a number of reasons a senior may resist adhering to doctors’ instructions, from […]