Why Someone has Suicidal Thoughts Most people start having suicidal thoughts when they are desperate to escape suffering that has become unbearable. The individual who chooses suicide as their only option feels self-loathing, hopelessness, and isolation. The unfortunate truth is that they can’t see any other way out of their situation other than to take […]
Handling Feelings of Depression Having feelings of depression affects millions of people. Both the caregiver and the care receiver suffer from depression in many situations. Attempting to care for someone who feels depressed while feeling that way is particularly difficult. If this describes your life, I encourage you to seek help from a qualified
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Coping with Anger and Aggression Many family caregivers provide care to family members who have dementia (i.e., someone with memory loss), either as their main reason for needing care or as one of many reasons. Caregivers and dementia patients often struggle with anger and aggression arguments. Unexplained Anger When we think
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Sundowning Sundowning Confusion Starts in Early Afternoon Sundowning comes by its name because it’s a behavior seen in many dementia patients around the time the sun goes down each day in the late afternoon or evening hours. In most cases, symptoms are less pronounced earlier in the day. As the day progresses toward
Hallucinations and Delusions Seem Real Hallucinations and delusions can both occur with mental illness, including dementia (Alzheimer’s.) In fact, some people even hallucinations or delusions with infections, after anesthesia, with serious illnesses, or as a side effect of medications. Therefore, you can’t assume that if your family member doesn’t have
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What’s the Process to Baptism Someone Immobile at Home? Last year, my husband asked me to help him arrange a baptism ceremony at our home. Though baptized as a child, he wanted to supplement his childhood understanding with a reaffirmation of adult faith. Lynn has Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS). As his condition progressed rapidly
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Factors Influencing Emotional Acceptance What are the many factors that influence the emotional acceptance of a caregiver to their new role? Among those influences is whatever caused them to become a caregiver in the first place. Emotions have a powerful influence on how an individual perceives their environment and their circumstances. They shape a
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What is a Care Agreement? A care agreement is a written document that spells out what the caregiver and the family member agree will be the caregiver’s job duties. Furthermore, the Agreement includes expectations about job duties, including services, assistance needs, etc. For example, the scope of care may include only activities of
The Care Recipient Always Has Final Decision Making Authority Provided Competency Is Present Determining who has authority and the right to final decision-making is often unclear. The person receiving care always maintains final decision-making authority over his care, as long as he remains competent. However, other family members may want
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Quarantine is Over Daily, the news carries reports of another state entering Phase One of returning to normal following the massive shut-down of the country to protect the vulnerable population from the Coronavirus. At this point, I think most, if not all, states have reopened markets that are not high-risk. People are emerging from
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