Being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is life-changing both for the person receiving the diagnosis and anyone who loves them. It is important for family caregivers to allow themselves ample time to prepare for the changes to come with the new responsibilities of caregiving and to discover a healthy way to sort out the assorted emotions that manifest.
Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is life-altering, and having a network of support is crucial. When someone you love is undergoing treatment for cancer, you may feel unsure how to best support the person without overstepping boundaries or causing them to feel uncomfortable for any reason. What can you do to best help someone you love through a cancer diagnosis? Our experts in home care and memory care in Mt….
Stop for a moment to close your eyes and visualize yourself like this: You’ve spent most of your life providing care for and helping others – as a mother or father, in your occupation, through volunteering in your community, and as a grandparent. After a lifetime of living independently and being in control of all of your decisions, you have now aged to the point that you actually are the…
Care providers devote so much of themselves to those they care for – both physically and emotionally. It’s common to become worn down and to start to experience feelings such as apathy, weariness, and a detachment from the person in your care. Referred to as compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress, it can be harmful to your own health and wellbeing but may also impact your ability to be as…
Family caregiver stress is unavoidable, and in reality, not always a bad thing. Basically, as they say, “A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.” But particularly for family caregivers, the level of stress can quickly intensify and become overwhelming, and if not handled properly, bring on serious health concerns.
Family caregivers give a tremendous amount of themselves to meet the needs of their loved ones, frequently giving up their own desires and needs along the way. It might seem normal, then, to assume that caregivers would feel very good about themselves, with high self-worth and a sense of purpose.
So many people are attempting to juggle multiple obligations, and for family caregivers, it can feel like juggling flaming swords and knives. It’s natural for family members to become overloaded and to experience feelings of caregiver guilt when wanting to provide the best care for a loved one.
Alzheimer’s disease is a complicated condition that often brings with it overwhelming issues for family caregivers. As the disease continues into later stages, those with Alzheimer’s increasingly communicate through actions as opposed to speech, and quite often these types of behaviors can be inappropriate. For example, a senior with more advanced Alzheimer’s disease might exhibit the following:
Envision how it would feel to awaken in an unfamiliar place, not being able to remember how you arrived there or even what your name is. Utter disorientation quickly turns into anger and fear, and you might now discover yourself yelling at the stranger positioned by your bed, talking to you in a quiet voice.
Providing home care services for a senior loved one with Alzheimer’s disease can be complicated under the best of conditions; add in a global pandemic, one that calls for social distancing, personal protective equipment (PPE), and intensive sanitation of both ourselves and our home environment, and the challenge might seem insurmountable. Advanced Home Health Care’s dementia care team provides the following tips for Alzheimer’s caregivers to help keep both seniors and…