Finding Your Way on a Difficult Path
A Time For Remembering This past weekend, Americans celebrated the holiday of remembering—Memorial Day. A day for honoring men and women lost in American wars. These foot soldiers battled against injustice and fought to protect and preserve liberty and decency. As a caregiver, you are a foot soldier. You stand in the trenches with your […]
Music & Memory 🎶 The Yellow Rose of Texas
After wheeling my mother to a table in the activity room of her care facility in Los Gatos, California, I walk to a cabinet and open a door looking for something to do. 1950’s country music fills the large room. Shamelessly, joyfully people are singing along with Elvis. “You don’t have to say you love […]
Along the Path of Caring
Caring Brings us to the Moment at Hand Care givers are challenged daily to deal with the unexpected. Accepting change and adapting to whatever arises shapes the path of caring. Stepping over the edge of the known and into the unknown requires courage, trust and ingenuity. Engaging with the moment at hand with an open […]
Three Paths of Caring
The Path of Self-Care “Mindfulness of the body is the body’s mindfulness.” Yoga and meditation are valuable tools for strengthening the body, balancing the mind and recovering a spirit of joyful inquiry. Mindfulness comes from presence and a practice of self-care that increases our capacity to care for others. A Calling to CARE What do you care […]
From Normal To Lost
Do you Know the Difference between Normal and Abnormal Memory Loss? Mild memory loss with slower processing time is a part of normal aging but progressively worsening memory loss, difficulty reasoning and the inability to learn new skills, is not normal aging. Stages of Change 1. Normal aging 2. Mild Cognitive Impairment 3. Pre-clinical symptoms […]
The Reminiscing Connection
For those with Alzheimer’s the therapeutic effect of reminiscing is particularly important as it taps into a visceral place, far deeper than memory alone. By bringing past experience into consciousness, “life review”  improves well being for seniors. Reminiscence techniques aid in communication. By bringing what is hidden into awareness, distress and stress behaviors begin to […]