From the desk of Rosemary Laird, MD
Founder of Navigating Aging Needs (NAN), LLC
Embracing Change
As we head into the Autumn season, we are immersed in a world that is changing all around us. The days are shorter, the air cooler, and farther north the levels of chlorophyll shut down in the leaves of trees, exposing brilliant hues of yellow, red and gold. Though these signs signal that winter is on its way, there is no escaping the beauty it inspires in us. It is a reminder that there is beauty, too, in the stages of the caregiving journey you are on with your loved one, and that we all can find strength, and beauty, in a world of constant change. Here are some tips for making the most of it.
Take Time to Celebrate!
Caregivers must learn to reinvent themselves continually, and adapt the challenges facing them on a daily basis. But you also have to take the time, and make the effort, to celebrate the small accomplishments that occur for you and your loved one daily.
The Road to Recovery
As the aftermath of Ian leaves us all a little soggy and suffering from “Hurricane Brain,” as one of our Navigators calls it, it’s time to explore how we can best turn to some “recovery” practices to get ourselves back. As elite athletes will tell you, the “recovery” part of training is just as important as the training itself. It gives the body a chance to rebuild, make new connections, and grow stronger.
Get Ready for Ian!
As hurricane Ian bears down on Florida, please take a few moments to learn about the risks and take steps to protect yourself.
Managing “Bad” Behaviors
Among the biggest challenges of caregiving for someone with Alzheimer’s are the behavioral changes that result from the disease. Your loved one can sometimes appear to be a different person from the one you’ve known for so long, including having bouts of feeling fatigued, depressed, paranoid or anxious. Oftentimes these “bad” behaviors are in fact attempts by your loved one to communicate some sort of unmet need, confusion about what is going on, or a physical issue such as pain.
Thanks, Partner!
This coming Thursday marks the Autumnal Equinox, the point where the tilt of the earth’s axis is parallel to its orbit around the sun. It seems like such a short while ago that I was writing in this newsletter about the Spring Equinox! Time feels like it has moved so quickly since we started our partnership with many of you. Over the past six months we have learned a lot from you about how to improve our NAN offerings and services to meet your needs. Here’s a sampling of the most sought-after content on the website over the past half year
Finding the Joy
In my many years of working with caregivers, I have seen first-hand how agonizing your day-to-day struggles can sometimes be. You may at times feel overwhelmed, overcome with stress, or experience a profound sense of grief for all that is lost to this disease. So my words of advice today may seem counter-intuitive: Find time to seek out joy. As challenging as our lives may be at times, being a caregiver for your loved one can give a life purpose, meaning — and even joy.
Back to School Days
The Labor Day Holiday always reminds me of new beginnings. After all, it’s the unofficial end of summer, and schools all over the country are beginning classes again. Though most of us are no longer going back to school, it’s still the case that the key to caregiving success is love, patience — and lifelong learning! That’s because you have a big job to do, and the more you learn about your loved one’s disease and how to handle it, the more prepared you will be — and less stressed!
Take a Break!
As a caregiver for a patient with Alzheimer’s, taking time for yourself may be hard to accomplish. Still, we at NAN for Caregivers believe that caregivers need to care for themselves, too, and we encourage you to find a way to take a break, if only for a few hours or a day. One way to find a bit of time for yourself is to think about asking a friend or relative to fill in for you for a short time while you attend to other commitments. Another way to get a break is through working with a variety of services that provide hourly or daily care.
Be Prepared!
In periods of quiet, we can take advantage of the calm and prepare for the storms ahead. The same is true for Alzheimer’s Disease: To be sure, there will be stormy times to come with this challenging disease, and so it is best to use the quiet time to help prepare.
We Hear You!
Based on your great input, we've created some new offerings on NANforCaregivers.com that include tips for dealing with sleep disturbances, suggestions for activities for people with hampered vision, and recommended local services that may be able to help you with a variety of tasks.
Managing Difficult Behaviors
Some of the most difficult challenges in caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders include times when your loved one becomes irritable, agitated, disoriented, and/or angry, and exhibits behaviors that are difficult to deal with such as wandering, or its opposite, clinging. Here are some coping strategies.
Caring for the Caregiver!
For most caregivers, learning that a loved one has a progressive memory loss disorder such as Alzheimer’s is a sudden signal that their lives are about to change, with tremendous responsibilities and difficult decisions ahead. But it’s also a signal that you need to ensure that you take care of your own well-being, too, so that you’ll be able to give the best care possible to your loved one in the coming years.
The Future is Now!
Planning for your loved one’s legal and financial future is a vitally important part of any caregiver’s duties. However, even in the most loving families these subjects are often taboo, especially between parents and adult children: Unfortunately, when Alzheimer’s disease is progressing there are many ways legal and financial affairs can become problematic. Given these challenges, there is a critical need to have a strategy for the future, and equally important to have a strategy for how to discuss this with your loved one.
Changing Emotions
To understand how Alzheimer's disease impacts your loved one’s emotions, it is important to keep in mind that Alzheimer’s disease can affect different parts of the brain in different ways. This imbalance contributes to the common emotional symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s, which include depression, apathy, anxiety, fear, and agitation.
Your Greatist Hits!
Here at the midpoint of the year are the top articles that our collective community has been accessing most often through the year -- these are your top ten “greatest hits”.
When Memory Fades
The Fourth of July holiday is a day of fireworks and BBQs, but it’s also a day to reflect on our country’s history, and perhaps your and your loved one’s personal memories of Independence Day in the past. I hope that you and your loved one find some fun activities to celebrate the holiday. At the same time, I hope that you find some time to reflect on the nature of how we keep our memories, and learn how to best cope with Alzheimer’s devastating effects on this precious gift.
Staying Safe!
Of all the basic needs that humans require, safety is one of the most fundamental. As we all know, concerns about our loved one’s safety can be a dominating theme of our thoughts and activities day and night. At NAN we know your first thoughts are always about what your loved one needs, and we admire your dedication! But it's part of our job to keep you safe as well.
Celebrate Freedom on Juneteenth
This week we celebrate the newest of Federal holidays, though the day has been observed in parts of the U.S. for more than 150 years. That holiday is Juneteenth, which marks the anniversary of June 19th, 1865 when an officer and his Union Army troops read an order in Galveston, Texas that forced Texas enslavers to free their slaves. It’s a time we can all renew our collective American spirit and sense of community. Read on to learn how you and your loved one can join in the observance.
It’s OK to Play!
We all know that caregiving is very hard work. It takes patience, determination, and whole lot of grit to get through the day. But it’s important to remember that amidst all this work, you need to make time for you, and your loved one, to play.