Dementia care

The scene for this image is a kitchen with large windows looking out onto trees. Two women sit next to each other at a table visiting and opening small gifts. One woman has light skin and long brown hair and she wears glasses. The other woma, on the right, has dark skin and dark hair pulled back. She wears a gray pullover sweater that lower down and over the arms has gray and white stripes.

Respecting Diverse Approaches to Caregiving

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to caregiving. Every family caregiver must be free to make choices that work best for their unique situation. Even...

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Recognizing and Mitigating Caregiver Burnout

Caregiver burnout isn’t something that happens all at once. We all have good days and bad days, which is normal. Eventually, though, we may...

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Apologizing After Caregiver Stress Causes a Blowup

Caregiving is a stressful job even during the best of times. The sheer amount of responsibility is enough to make the most stoic person...

Cover of Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. The background is a sepia-toned room. In the foreground is a picture of the author's father, sitting in a contemplative pose with arms crossed. This image is also sepia-toned in browns of different shades. To the right is the book title.

Continuing Truths of Dementia Caregiving

As we travel our own unique journeys, most of us find that certain phrases or concepts take on the status of truth in our...

Why Does My Elderly Loved One Sleep All Day?

As people age, they tend to sleep more lightly than when they were younger. Waking up during the night due to achy joints or...

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In Caregiving Anxiety Can Be Contagious

We all live with a certain amount of worry, much of which is caused by fear of the unknown. Since health issues can change...

This indoor image shows a dark wall. An older man sits in a dark brown recliner. He's wearing a turquoise long sleeved henly style shirt. He has gray hair, no visible glasses, and is staring ahead with an unhappy expression.

Coaxing a Down-in-the-Dumps Older Adult to Smile

Despite increasing awareness of and sensitivity to ageism in our society, age-related stereotypes about stubborn, grumpy seniors persist. Chronic health conditions, changes in functioning,...

This indoor image shows an open door in the background with a large plant barely in view. In the foreground is a young mane with dark hair and a beard and wearing a white short-sleeved shirt standing over an older man feeling his forehead. The older man is Black. He has gray hair and is lying in bed. We see his pajama-clad arm laying on top of the white sheet.

Breaking the News That a Loved One is Going on Hospice Care

When the paperwork was finally signed to get hospice care for my dad, I was grateful. There would now be a routine of care...

This indoor office image shows gray walls and a widow in the background. A Black woman with curly hair has one hand on the wall by the window and with the other arm draped to her side. Shes' wearing a white buttoned up cartigan. We see two silver topped opened laptops on a table with arms of their users just visible. One has a hand, palm up, in front as if explaining something.

Should You Quit Your Job To Care for Your Elderly Parent?

As parents age and need more assistance, most adult children do what they can to help. For many, the first step is a weekly...

This indoor image shows a Native American woman in a gray turtleneck sweater. She faces us with an exasperated expression, hands held in front with open palms facing upward. Her hair is salt and pepper with tails of hair pulled over each shoulder.

How to Survive Caring for Multiple Elders at the Same Time

When Caregivers Are Pulled in Too Many Directions: Every caregiver is familiar with the constant nagging feeling that something or someone in their life...