One of the most heartfelt and uncomfortable conversations you will ever have in your life will be the senior living talk you may eventually have to have with your parent or parents. No one wants to have this conversation, but it’s often more detrimental to your parent’s well-being to avoid it. Here are some tips… Continue reading How to Have “The Conversation” with Your Parents
Tag: Caregiving
The Sibling Problem in Caregiving
By Nancy Wurtzel Few roles are as stressful for adult children as caregiving for their aging parents. The caregiving often begins slowly with a few simple tasks needed on occasion. However, as the parent ages and their needs change, the once sporadic duties may develop into a full-time commitment. Long-term caregiving for mom or dad… Continue reading The Sibling Problem in Caregiving
Are You A Caregiver Who Cares Too Much?
As an Alzheimer’s caregiver, I know there is a fine line between providing good care for a loved one and sacrificing your life to help someone else. In 2011, I left Los Angeles, my home of 33 years, and moved across the country to care for my mother, who was in the moderate stages of… Continue reading Are You A Caregiver Who Cares Too Much?
Parental Relationships, Sibling Rivalry, and Fear of Asking for Help
The familiar saying “you can choose your friends but not your family” becomes a glaring reality when adult parents might benefit significantly from a little assistance. The situation may not only be that adult children are concerned about the demands of caring for parents but that adult siblings simply may not get along and refuse… Continue reading Parental Relationships, Sibling Rivalry, and Fear of Asking for Help
5 Ways to Maintain Balanced Emotions While Caregiving
Have your feelings been bruised recently by someone for whom you’re providing care? You may be taking caregiving too personally. If you’re the caring type, you want to be helpful. But what happens when you become too helpful or become too controlling of the life of another person, especially IF this person IS family? Caregivers… Continue reading 5 Ways to Maintain Balanced Emotions While Caregiving
Spouses of Stroke Survivors Face Lingering Health Issues
Caregiver spouses of stroke survivors are at an increased risk of mental and physical health issues that may continue for years, according to research published in August 2015 in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. A release from the association notes that Swedish researchers evaluated 248 stroke survivors below age 70 (average mid-sixties), and their… Continue reading Spouses of Stroke Survivors Face Lingering Health Issues
The Aftermath of Caregiving
About a decade ago, Melvin, a long-time family friend, died of cancer. Catherine, his wife of more than 50 years, had cared for her husband during his many treatments and declining health. After Melvin’s death, Catherine fell into a deep depression. When she was her husband’s caregiver, Catherine’s days were hectic, but after Melvin’s funeral… Continue reading The Aftermath of Caregiving
Long-Term Care: Are You a Denier?
The statistics are staggering. About 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that more than 70 percent of people over 65 will require long-term care services at some point. But few people make preparations for this inevitable part of life that can drain a family… Continue reading Long-Term Care: Are You a Denier?
Some Surprising Truths About Caregivers
Although the “sandwich generation” is usually believed to include many caregivers, in fact they make up a very small part of the caregiving population, according to a new study. The research, published in Population and Development Review, is believed to be the first to break down unpaid caregiving in the United States by age and… Continue reading Some Surprising Truths About Caregivers
A Computer Program to Help Patients, Doctors and Caregivers
New software for medical records will help provide more personalized care for older patients, according to researchers. A study published in eGEMs, a peer-reviewed online publication recently launched by the Electronic Data Methods Forum, details the enhanced Electronic Medical Record Aging Brain Care Software, an automated decision-support system that enables care coordinators to track the… Continue reading A Computer Program to Help Patients, Doctors and Caregivers
Dealing with Family Stress When Caring for an Elderly Parent
It’s a time in life that no one looks forward to, but is often times inevitable: caring for an ill and aging parent. On top of the obvious physical and emotional rollercoaster, many families often disagree on what the best course of care is. Families that have been extremely close for years can all of… Continue reading Dealing with Family Stress When Caring for an Elderly Parent
How to Ward Off Compassion Fatigue
A willingness to see the needs of others and lend a helping hand can boost a person’s everyday happiness and make life more satisfying. But sometimes the world’s problems can seem so overwhelming – and each person’s ability to solve them so limited – that “compassion fatigue” sets in. Compassion fatigue is a phenomenon commonly… Continue reading How to Ward Off Compassion Fatigue
How to Handle Hallucinations and Delusions in Alzheimer’s Patients
Editor’s note: Alzheimer’s is one of the most frightening diseases in existence, and caring for a person with AD can be frustrating, heartbreaking and complicated. Here, experts from the National Institute on Aging offer coping strategies for caregivers who are dealing with a patient’s delusions, hallucinations and paranoia: As Alzheimer’s progresses, the person with AD… Continue reading How to Handle Hallucinations and Delusions in Alzheimer’s Patients
Taking the Right Precautions for a Family Member with Alzheimer’s
More than 15 million Americans – usually family members or friends – provide unpaid caregiving to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, according to a 2014 report by the Alzheimer’s Association. Although it’s wonderful so many are willing to assume that responsibility, it’s also important they take steps to make sure the… Continue reading Taking the Right Precautions for a Family Member with Alzheimer’s
All Family Members of the Mentally Ill Need Help
Listening to older sisters of mentally ill siblings discuss their mothers’ difficult caregiving experiences made Case Western Reserve University co-investigator M. Jane Suresky wonder if something important about families was missed in a prior study that focused on women caregivers of mentally ill family members. A release from the university explains that to find out,… Continue reading All Family Members of the Mentally Ill Need Help
Holiday Tips for Alzheimer’s Caregivers
Many caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease have mixed feelings about holidays. Caregivers may have happy memories of the past but they also may worry about the extra demands that holidays make on their time and energy. Here, from the National Institute on Aging, are some suggestions to help you find a balance between… Continue reading Holiday Tips for Alzheimer’s Caregivers
Life after Heart Attack and Stroke
Increasing numbers of people are surviving heart attacks and stroke, but they may suffer a sharper, decline in physical abilities than previously thought, according to a new study led by the University of Michigan. Many heart attack and stroke survivors required long-term assistance for activities such as dressing, bathing, grocery shopping and managing finances. Additionally,… Continue reading Life after Heart Attack and Stroke
Caregiver Involvement in Hospital Discharge Is Beneficial
Results of a study published in November 2014 in The American Journal of Managed Care show that the presence of a family caregiver during patient discharge is associated with a greater rate of completion of post hospital transitional care coaching intervention, particularly among men. Discharge is a crucial component of the hospitalization process. Patients’ understanding… Continue reading Caregiver Involvement in Hospital Discharge Is Beneficial