Relationships

Coping With the Decision to Put Your Parent in a Care Facility

Guilt is one emotion that every family caregiver will experience at some point during their journey. When you take on responsibility for another person,...

A New Generation of Caregivers: Grandchildren Taking Care of Grandparents

Family and household composition have changed a great deal over recent decades. Many of these young caregivers have lived with or been raised by...

Breathe: Calming Someone with Dementia Starts with Calming Yourself

Dear Carol: I need tips on how to calm my husband who has been diagnosed with both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. In the past,...

Respecting the Right to Age with Dignity

The impact of aging frequently makes the news. Sadly, the coverage is consistently negative, and all facets of this topic are portrayed as “problems” that...

How to Talk to the Doctor About Your Elderly Parent or Spouse

A frequent problem expressed among family caregivers is that their aging loved ones aren’t honest with their doctors. At home, they may gripe about...

Dementia Can Open the Door to Artistic Expression

The treatment of people with dementia has changed dramatically since I first became personally involved with the disease. It’s now widely recognized that while...

What Is Parentification and How Does It Relate to Role Reversal?

I was pleased to see one on my articles referenced in this excellent piece about the relationship between aging parents and their adult children...

Hospital Delirium: Cognitive Decline After Hospitalization

In the expected course of treatment, people are hospitalized because they are ill. Then, barring a terminal condition, they are released because they are...