We desire what’s best for our elderly parents. As our parents age, it is not necessarily a straightforward task to determine our role as adult children. However, if we’re not very careful, it is possible to find ourselves overstepping boundaries with senior parents and trying to parent them. Avoiding boundary issues is particularly true when […]
When you need to work as a team to make sure the needs of your aging parents are met, even the closest of brothers and sisters could find themselves at odds. Emotions and stress levels are, commonly, running high. Add to that your past history and family dynamics, which commonly resurface during stressful times, and […]
What are your first thoughts as soon as you wake up in the morning? Are you looking forward to what your day holds, or would you like to crawl back beneath the covers and remain there? If you’re feeling more caregiver dread than delight as you consider your responsibilities for the day, you are not […]
Even as memory loss and confusion escalate throughout the progression of dementia, there is an interesting and pleasant reprieve that often occurs. Previously termed “terminal lucidity,” it’s more frequently known as “paradoxical lucidity.” It signifies an unexpected, temporary return of clarity to a nearly pre-dementia state of mind during the end stages of dementia. During […]
If there’s one particular positive after-effect regarding the pandemic, it’s the awareness generated for the plight of family caregivers. Finding a post-pandemic work-life balance will be without question an incredible challenge for people taking care of an older relative. As Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO of Wellthy, explains, “Caregiving went from a silent struggle to being in […]
There are specific milestones we might encounter in our lives that, while not automatically negative, are known stressors. Losing a job. Starting a brand new job. Getting divorced. Getting married. And one that we in the home care industry are especially mindful of: the mental and physical effect on family members who are caring for […]
It might have come altogether out of nowhere: an unanticipated fall that caused a fractured hip and the need for Mom to have assistance to stay at home. Or, it may have been building up over the years, such as through the incremental and slow progression of dementia. Regardless of the circumstances, you’ve now found […]
It’s easy to get swept up in the day-to-day tasks of caregiving for an older adult you love. There is so much to be done, and often it’s just much easier and a lot more efficient to do it all on your own, letting a senior loved one relax. After all, our elders have taken […]
Family care providers give so much of themselves to attend to their loved ones, often surrendering their own desires and needs in the process. It seems normal to assume then that caretakers would feel good about themselves, rich in self-esteem and sense of purpose. However, the opposite is often true, with many people experiencing family […]
It can come seemingly out of thin air: you place your loved one’s favorite tuna sandwich in front of her – light on the mayo, no onions – something which usually brings her enjoyment. But this time, she shoves the plate away and does not want to take a bite, insisting that you’ve poisoned the […]
