Support

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...

What to Do When a Senior Refuses to Bathe and Change Their Clothes

The responsibility of providing care for an aging or ill loved one is a monumental challenge in its own right. But when a care...

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...

When You Witness Cognitive Decline, Step in with Respect

Dear Carol: My mom and I have always had a good relationship, and I’ve admired her sharp brain and great humor. She was a...

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...

How to Engage in Self-Care While Grieving

Many caregivers watch their loved ones endure a long, slow decline that will eventually end in death. As they age, we grieve every mental...

Balancing Elder Care with Other Relationships

Becoming a family caregiver is often something that either happens very suddenly or slowly sneaks up on a person. When a loved one has...

When One Parent Dies the Other Often Needs a Long-Term Care Plan

Long-term marriages generally evolve into a support system so efficient that even adult children hardly notice changes in their parents. If Dad’s hearing is...