Becoming Involved in Creative Arts Could Prevent or Delay Alzheimer's
Completing crosswords, making a habit of Sudoku and playing challenging brain games on the Internet have long been suggested as methods of .maintaining our cognitive health. These are all fine pursuits, but research by Mayo Clinic has shown that creative arts such as painting, drawing, and sculpting may protect the mind against cognitive decline even better than the commonly used forms of brain exercise.
Read more on HealthCentral about how the creative arts can help our brains:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - December 29, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Ties That Bind: Many Long-Married Couples Die Close Together
While death rarely brings pleasant feelings, from time to time we'll see a story about death go viral on the Internet because it touches people's hearts. Long-married spouses that die within hours or days of one another often fall into that category because they seem to remind us that, ideally, marriage is for eternity.
Read more on Agingcare about why long-married couples often die close together:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - December 28, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Respect Your Elders' Need for Independence
Dignity and identity are often tied to independence. As aging issues eat away at our loved ones' ability to follow through on tasks that they always loved, the feeling that life is worth living can fade as well. Our task as a caregiver is to encourage activities that contribute to our loved ones' feelings of self-worth while watching for safety concerns. If, as a caregiver, you are in doubt, it's generally best to err on the side of encouraging more independence rather than less.
Read more on Agingcare about honoring your elders' need to be independent:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - December 27, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Acceptance of Change Important in Alzheimer ’s Caregiving
My dad went into surgery with a smile and hope. He came out with severe dementia. Something unexplainable at the time had happened and Dad became a statistic – one of those “poor outcomes” we hear about. My head knew this tragedy was permanent, but my heart wanted my “real” dad back. The kind, loving, intelligent man whose love for me was steadfast. I wanted him back. Unfortunately, my family and I had to learn to accept the fact that Dad would never be the same.
Read full article on HealthCentral about how accepting change can help us survive nearly anything:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - December 26, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Should You Pressure Mom and Dad to Move Closer to You?
...Often the adult children need to travel south to handle sudden hospitalizations or other emergencies. This causes problems with jobs and kids at home. So they beg their parents to come "back home." Parents balk. "This is my home, now. I don't want to leave my friends. I don't want to leave my church. I don't want to live in the cold and risk a fall on the ice." Then there's the reverse...
Read full article on Agingcare about whether or not to convince elders to "move back home"
Safety for your Elders - Peace of Mind for You: Simple Smart Phone with Large Screen, Jitterbug flip phone, Urgent Response...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 26, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Even with Awareness Alzheimer's Stigma Remains
One would think that with news coverage, television specials and even movies based on characters with Alzheimer’s disease, the stigma of dementia would ease. There shouldn’t be any more reluctance for people with Alzheimer’s disease to relate news of their dementia than if they had a cancer diagnosis. Yet the stigma that surrounds dementia, as well as most mental illnesses, is regrettably alive and well, often forcing people to erect a protective wall of denial around their symptoms rather than seek help.Thanks to courageous people, we are seeing some cracks in the wall of that denial.
Read more on HealthCentral abou...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 25, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Caregivers: Are You Enjoying Christmas Day?
Many people are celebrating Christmas Day, today, December 25th. Caregivers may find the word "celebrating" a little over the top, but try not to be too dismissive. If you are caring for a parent or spouse who doesn't recognize you for who you are, that doesn't mean your efforts are unappreciated. Know that on some level, your love is understood. Celebrate that. If you have rushed around like a wild person trying to make a perfect holiday happen for your family, well, today you are done, no matter where you are in the process. Celebrate that.
Read full article on HealthCentral about getting through Christmas Da...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 24, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Christmas Is Season of Love Not Perfection
Dear Readers: Christmas is here so, regardless of your level of preparation, remember that this is supposed to be the season of love, not perfection. If you're not ready in the way you would prefer to be, that's fine. Enjoy what you've done and forget about the rest. Letting go of your expectation of perfection can go a long way toward making this a nice holiday. Acceptance of what life is right now can be an enormous part of this process. Caregivers, especially, may need to make changes in routines. You can’t be all things to all people, so the fact that Mom pulled off a Christmas to rival Dicke...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 23, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Christmas Is Here: Our Best Is Good Enough
The decisions caregivers of elderly loved ones must make during the Christmas holidays are fraught with opportunities to make mistakes in judgment. Chief among them is how much to include a loved one who has dementia in the festivities. Will the Christmas tree bring Mom happy memories of past Christmas pleasures or will it remind her of the Christmas tree fire in her home when she was a five-year-old child? Will the gathering of loving relatives bring her a feeling of being loved and cared for or will she suffer from horrible anxiety because of all of these people who have become strangers?
Read full article on Healt...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 22, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Acceptance of Change Important in Alzheimer ’s Caregiving
My dad went into surgery with a smile and hope. He came out with severe dementia. Something unexplainable at the time had happened and Dad became a statistic – one of those “poor outcomes” we hear about. My head knew this tragedy was permanent, but my heart wanted my “real” dad back. The kind, loving, intelligent man whose love for me was steadfast. I wanted him back. Unfortunately, my family and I had to learn to accept the fact that Dad would never be the same.
Read full article on HealthCentral about how accepting change can help us survive nearly anything:
Safety for your Elders - Peace of Mind fo...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 21, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Many People Are Not Cut Out To Be a Caregiver and That's Okay
...Similarly, some people may have the insight to recognize that they wouldn't be able to provide quality day in and day out hands-on care for a beloved parent. They may have spent decades building careers that they love, encouraged by the parents who now need care, or they may be people to whom patience is not natural and a repetitive daily grind would become numbing. Are these bad people? No. Selfish people? Again, no. Or at least most of them are not. They simply don't have the personality makeup for the repetitive, nurturing task of long-term hands-on caregiving for vulnerable adults.
Read full article on Agingca...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 20, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Don ’t Sweat the Small Stuff: Goofs Can Enhance Family Christmas Stories
...We can plan ourselves silly, but the unexpected will always occur. The only remedy for this is to not take ourselves or our plans too seriously. Life throws curve balls, but many of them aren’t that huge if we don’t exaggerate their importance. Is it really that important if the order for the fruit try got lost and you end up just grabbing a fresh pineapple? Will the world end if intended recipient of the errant package opens a box that contains a bag of cookies and an IOU for the gift that will arrive late?
Read more on HealthCentral about not letting the little things get to you:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - December 19, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Nighttime Snacks Stop Some Alzheimer's Wandering
Elderly people often eat more food when they are on a program of frequent, smaller meals than the standard three larger meals a day. Available snacks can also help people with Alzheimer’s who tend to wander. An informal experiment at the Parker Jewish Institute in New Hyde Park, N.Y. found that if they provided people with dementia who became anxious and agitated at night with a snack, they would often calm down and return to bed.
Read full article on HealthCentral about calming someone with AD who gets up at night:
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Source: Minding Our Elders - December 18, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
World ’s Largest Virtual Hallelujah Chorus
300+ members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir combined with over 2,000 voices worldwide. An experience to share.
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Source: Minding Our Elders - December 17, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Is Forcing At-Risk but Content Elder to Leave His Home Wise?
Dear Carol: My dad is 85 and lives quite happily on his own. He has arthritis pain and has fallen at least twice, though he doesn’t tell me unless I notice a bruise or limp. He has always been healthy but stubborn and he likes his nighttime drinks. I don’t want to take away his drinks or anything else that he enjoys, but I worry. He has a doctor and grudgingly goes yearly for his checkup but Dad’s wily and the doctor is busy so his cholesterol prescription gets renewed and that’s about it. When I suggest to Dad that we go together for another visit to let the doctor know about his falls he gets furious. Since...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 17, 2016 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
