September 13, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
It’s easy to let other relationships take a back seat when you’re committed to caring for a senior loved one. After all, there are only 24 hours in a day, and you can only spread yourself so thin. This can lead to additional stress, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings. (more…)
September 6, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
Remember how it felt to be a teenager. Think about your place of solitude and how important it was to have a safe place for yourself to forget about the rest of the world, listen to your favorite music, and pour your troubles out to your diary. (more…)
August 21, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
It’s common for older adults to experience changes in their weight and diet. Dental problems, medication side effects, less physical activity as a result of mobility issues, and other factors should be explored and either addressed or ruled out. But there’s another explanation that you may not have considered: eating disorders in older adults. (more…)
August 11, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
It’s hard to predict how someone with dementia will behave from moment to moment. The disease can transform a person’s mood, personality, and behaviors in the blink of an eye. When you’re at home providing care for a person with dementia, these changes can be hard enough to manage. But what happens when you’re at a restaurant, grocery store, or hair salon? (more…)
August 3, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
It’s finally time for welcoming a new caregiver into Dad’s home! While this can be an exciting time, it can also bring feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. These feelings are typical and perfectly normal. A little advance planning and preparation for this important milestone will help ensure a comfortable and smooth transition for everyone. (more…)
July 19, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
Everyone remembers “the talk” with their parents. How could you forget? If you thought that was uncomfortable, brace yourself for “the talk” with an older parent about concerns you’re noticing and the need for care at home! Discussing home care options with your parents can be a tough conversation for many reasons: (more…)
July 12, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
It would be great if Alzheimer’s care came with a manual – a step-by-step guide on what to expect at each stage of the disease. While there are some general commonalities in the progression of dementia, each person’s experience is unique. So, it’s difficult to know what to prepare for on any given day. (more…)
July 5, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
Contrary to popular belief, PTSD doesn’t just occur after experiencing life-threatening danger. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) can arise after any traumatic event or experience. It may surprise you to learn that providing care for a family member is one of the main causes of PTSD: a condition known as caregiver PTSD. However, it’s common for the condition to go unnoticed and untreated. This is because the person receiving care is usually the primary focus of both healthcare providers and the family at large. (more…)
June 20, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
Everyone knows the feeling of not being able to get out of bed in the morning. But for seniors with chronic fatigue, that feeling is intensified a hundred times over. As one chronic fatigue sufferer describes it, “I feel like I have a drained battery pretty much all of the time. It’s sort of like being a wrung-out dish rag.”
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June 14, 2023 by Dean Bellefeuille
During COVID, isolation wasn’t just the norm. It was a necessity. Older adults were especially vulnerable, so extra precautions were taken to keep them safe. Solitary lifestyles adopted out of necessity became the new norm for a number of older adults who have yet to get back to senior socialization.
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