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Total 212 results found since Jan 2013.
Overcoming Denial to Seek Potential Dementia Diagnosis
An article in the UK Telegraph reported on a survey showing that two-thirds of people over the age of 50 are more afraid of developing dementia than of getting cancer. Other surveys show similar percentages.
One reason for this intense fear of Alzheimer's is obvious. While many types of cancer can be cured, most types of dementia cannot. However, another reason is that the idea of being betrayed by our brains to the point that we are essentially lost in the disease is abhorrent to most of us. This fear, unfortunately, tends to make many people less than willing to see a physician for dementia testing even whe...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 21, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Dementia: Moving Beyond Diagnosis
For most anyone who has been diagnosed with dementia or has loved someone with a type of dementia, the formal diagnosis was a moment frozen in time. A moment where the thought of possibly having a brain-destroying disease became a confirmed reality. That pivotal moment is life-changing; however, people can move beyond that moment in time and learn to live with dementia.
For our family, that moment arrived after my dad came out of surgery that was supposed to repair damage caused by a World War II brain injury. We had seen Dad wheeled into surgery. He’d propped himself up on one elbow and given us a signal that all would...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 12, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Unearned Guilt Intrinsic to Most Caregiving
Photo credit Sharon McCutcheon
If ever there's a group of people who suffer deeply from unearned guilt, it’s caregivers. Whether you’re the parent of a vulnerable adult, an adult child of aging parents, or the spouse of a vulnerable adult, you are bound to have your “if only” times where you are sucked into the quicksand of guilt. The reality is that most things you could have done differently wouldn’t have made a huge difference overall. Even if another approach would have made a difference, you can’t go back. Staying mired in guilt is counterproductive for you as well as your care receiver.
While some...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 11, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Aging in Place or Assisted Living: It ' s About Choices
It's not hard to understand why 60-year-olds would say that they want to remain in their home for life rather than move to assisted living or a nursing home. These are generally people who are relatively healthy and feel that they can hire help for whatever they need down the road.
Indeed, aging in place sounds like a wonderful concept. What could possibly be wrong with it? The Washington Post interviewed Stephen M. Golant, a University of Florida professor of gerontology, about the trend. Golant views the current. He feels that people should have choices and that aging in place is just one of them. Golant said in the int...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 10, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Spending Time Second-Guessing Your Caregiving Decisions?
Like most adults, I’ve second-guessed many of my own decisions. While most were made with my own future in mind, that all changed when I became a family caregiver for an ever-increasing number of older adults – a time that also coincided with raising two young children, one with health challenges.
A dying aunt, a budding son: My aunt Marion, who had no children of her own, was in the hospital dying of cancer. While my parents visited her much of the time, I’d been close to her since I first learned to walk, so I tried to see her as much as possible.
One afternoon, it had become evident that Marion was u...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 9, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
With Safety Upgrades, Aging-in-place an Alternative to Moving
Photo credit Mark Timberlake
Dear Carol: My parents are still vigorous and healthy, which is wonderful, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are in their 80s. I’ve been encouraging them to start a plan so they can move out of their home to a safer living situation. They don’t need assisted living yet, but independent living or even a condo or apartment would be safer for them than their big house. When I mention the idea, they sort of agree but then evade and put off doing anything. I understand that they love their home and its memories, but change is needed. How do I motivate them? - DM
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Source: Minding Our Elders - November 6, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Driving and Memory Loss: Tips to Help Elders Give Up Driving
For many of us, a car is a sign of independence. But this emotional connection to our automobiles is part of what makes convincing a person that he or she is no longer capable of driving such a volatile battle. The longer adult children or others wait to discuss driving issues with a loved one, the harder it can be.
Occasionally, people in the earlier stages of cognitive or physical decline will recognize the signs of that decline when they have a close call while driving and scare themselves into giving up their right to drive. More frequently, if the person has developed Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, and th...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 5, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Strategies for Getting (and Staying) Organized While Caregiving
Photo credit Ekaterina Bolovtsova
Caring for a vulnerable elder can be rewarding as well as frustrating. It can increase our self-esteem to know that we are helping someone in need, but it can also burden us as we grapple with difficult care decisions and the fact that we aren’t perfect caregivers. (Hint: No one is.) Caregiving requires continual learning and adjustments, and no two situations are identical. But, becoming as organized as possible and making a consistent effort to stay that way can help you relieve caregiver stress and use your time and energy more efficiently. It might seem overwhelming to maintai...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 4, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Arts Improve Quality of life for Stroke Survivors and People with Alzheimer ' s
Photo credit Elina Sazonova
...An article about the study on Eurekalert also reports that "researchers have shown that listening to" music directly stimulates a feeling of pleasure by releasing dopamine in the brain." These results shed light on the importance of lifelong exposure to art for improving the recovery process after a stroke. Introducing art into nursing care after a stroke could help improve stroke survivors' quality of life. Theater has also been used as a type of therapy for people with Alzheimer's disease.
NPR reported on an outreach program at the Lookingglass Theater in Chicago that offers people with A...
Source: Minding Our Elders - November 3, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
More Support from Healthcare System Essential for End-of-Life Care
Discussions with Elders about HousingCalming a Person with Dementia Begins with Joining Their WorldNeeds of Solo Agers a Growing Concern in Aging Population
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 16, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Life Does Go on After a Dementia Diagnosis: Try Art
Discussions with Elders about HousingNeeds of Solo Agers a Growing Concern in Aging Population
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 14, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Caregivers: We Need to Stop Second-Guessing Ourselves
Photo credit Karolina Grabowska
Like most adults, I’ve second-guessed many of my own decisions. While most were made with my own future in mind, that all changed when I became a family caregiver for an ever-increasing number of older adults – a time that also coincided with raising two young children, one with health challenges.
A dying aunt, a budding son: My aunt Marion, who had no children of her own, was in the hospital dying of cancer. While my parents visited her much of the time, I’d been close to her since I first learned to walk, so I tried to see her as much as possible. One afternoon, it had become...
Source: Minding Our Elders - October 6, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Are Caregivers “Mad as Hell?” Many Are, and For Good Reason
Dear Carol: My dad, 83, has received bladder cancer treatments for years, but now his cancer has become aggressive. Unfortunately, so has his oncologist. Dad has rarely questioned his doctors, so even though he’s in agony, he’s accepting each new treatment without asking for alternatives. He’s always been emphatic that when treatments don’t work, he wanted hospice care, so we’re now determined to transfer him. It’s a process, but we’re getting there so I’m not writing for advice. I just want to know why alternatives to last-ditch treatments that simply “buy time," aren’t better explained to patien...
Source: Minding Our Elders - September 18, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
5 Tips for Keeping Your Brain Healthy While Caregiving
Many of us cope with the stress of caring for someone who has dementia. We agonize over the increasing losses that our loved one faces as dementia works its way through their brains. We also worry about ourselves. Will we, too, end our lives without recognizing the people we love? What, if anything, can we do to protect our own brains? With this question in mind, I asked two brain experts for their input on how caregivers can practice self-care and reduce worry about their health—specifically their brain health.
What's good for the heart is good for the brain: First, I questioned Benjamin T. Mast, Ph....
Source: Minding Our Elders - September 14, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Loving Yourself: A Caregiver ’s Ultimate Challenge
We've all heard that we must first learn to love ourselves before we can love others. Yet, many of us have grown up with family members who were hard on us or taught us that self-love is selfish or arrogant, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
What Is Self-Love? Louise Hay, a founder of the self-help movement and author of several New Thought motivational books, defines self-love as a deep, unconditional acceptance and appreciation for all parts of who we are. Self-love is the culmination of building awareness of ourselves, nurturing our minds and bodies, and acknowledging that we are good and valuabl...
Source: Minding Our Elders - September 13, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
