Students from a local high school joined with Chelsea Place Memory Care residents to build special “dog stick” libraries with wooden crates to distribute to dog parks throughout Aurora, Colorado. Their crate building session was written up in the Denver Post. You can read more on this here
The holidays are over. If you are caring for a loved one with dementia, it’s back to the reality of a long winter ahead, and the concerns that revolve around the responsibilities you shoulder every day. The amount of stress you carry with those responsibilities cannot be overstated. Stress is in all our lives but, for caregivers, it can seem endless and without help in sight.
The Alzheimer’s Association identifies the 10 symptoms of caregiver stress as follows:
Collectively, these symptoms can knock an otherwise caring, compassionate caregiver off balance, replacing what was once a level-headed approach to daily life with one that is full of daily anxiety.
If you recognize some of the above stress patterns in your life, it is important to know that there are ways to manage your stress before it becomes overwhelming. Here are some tips to gain back control:
The stress you feel as a caregiver is very real and must be taken seriously. Pushing your feelings aside and neglecting your own needs doesn’t do anyone any good. Take the time now to take steps to gain control over your life and your role as caregiver. Remember, there are resources out there to help. Do this for yourself and do it for your loved one.
We have often written about the value of providing a sense of purpose to individuals struggling with dementia. When that sense of purpose extends out to the greater community, it has an even more powerful impact on all who are involved.
Over the holidays, the residents of Porter Place Memory Care in Tinley Pak, Illinois decided to embark upon a very special project to benefit P.A.W.S of Tinley Park, a no-kill animal shelter dedicated to the protection of domestic animals and to the attempt to prevent animal cruelty in the surrounding communities.
Anything involving an effort to help animals tends to get a particularly enthusiastic response. Porter Place residents and staff considered a variety of ways to raise money for the shelter. Finally, they came up with a great idea: make their own special organic dog treats. Everyone loved it! The popular gourmet treats sold out quickly to dog owners and lovers throughout the community.
The fundraiser itself was a big success, garnering $268 for P.A.W.S.; a donation that will go a long way towards helping house and feed shelter animals, especially during the cold months of winter. P.A.W.S. Director, Jane Kocek, visited the community residents to personally thank them for their hard work and generous donation. Bobbi Kelley, Porter Place Community Relations Director, made note of the importance to the residents of participating in the project as well as the donation. “It’s very important that all of our residents have the opportunity to help others and contribute to society,” she said. “We all need purpose!”
Taking part in activities that provide a greater good to the broader community creates a sense of purpose in all of us, especially aging adults who are challenged with a dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. It adds meaning to their lives and provides the social interaction that is so important for their physical and emotional wellbeing.
If you are caring for a loved one with dementia, try to find stimulating, purposeful activities for them to participate in. You can either do this at home or find a local memory care community and get involved. Anthem Memory Care communities regularly open our doors to the public and would welcome an opportunity to meet you and your loved one!
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When the new year is “2020” it brings up all sorts of interesting connotations; perfect vision being among them. With that theme in mind, what is your vision as a caregiver for 2020? Just an extension of 2019? Another year of more giving and less taking for yourself? While that may seem heroic, it can wear you down to a point where you are no longer effective as a caregiver, let alone be the healthy person you owe it to yourself to be. This is especially true when you are caring for a loved one with dementia. That is why it is so important for caregivers to attend to their own needs, as well as those of the loved one they are caring for. And it’s not always easy!
Here is a short checklist compiled from a variety of sources, including our own. While you may not be able to tackle all of these at once, you should try your best to get started on at least a few of them:
It takes time and plenty of restarts to get on track with anything new. So don’t chastise yourself when you miss a support group meeting or have some gaps in your journaling. You are human and perfection should not be your goal.
Instead, what you should focus your attention on is finding ways to create a healthier, stronger and happier “you” in 2020. That takes time and patience. So make sure you are surrounding yourself with positive people who can be supportive on this most challenging of journeys.
Your life as a caregiver can’t be boiled down to a simple checklist. But, as with the old Chinese proverb of “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, the new year is a great time to start something fresh. Do this for yourself. Your loved one will benefit as well.
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Well, we’re well into the holiday season! This is the time of year when families and friends gather to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah traditions. It is the time when people come together to help others who are less fortunate. Finally, it is the season when everyone wishes each other the very best in the upcoming new year. As a special treat, we thought we’d share some images from just a few of our Anthem Memory Care communities as both residents and staff come together to make this season special for everyone!
Emerald Place residents did a great job making goody bags for charity...
Grace Point Place residents worked together to create a beautifully decorated tree...
A local elementary school choir performed holiday carols for residents at Highline Place...
Willowbrook Place residents show off their Christmas sweaters...
The talented culinary staff at Chelsea Place created a host of tasty goodies for the residents, including this traditional yule log...
Wishing all of you and your families happy holidays from all of us at Anthem Memory Care communities.
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For those who celebrate Christmas, the holidays can be full of fun family activities. Many of them are traditions; things you’ve always done and enjoy doing year after year. It may be as simple as decorating your tree or putting up lights and other decorations. Perhaps it’s taking a stroll in the snow while enjoying the cold, crisp air.
Regardless of how you have traditionally celebrated the holidays, when a loved one has dementia you may soon discover that the things they did last year may now be too strenuous or require too much cognitive ability to do this year. Needless to say, that can be a difficult realization to handle.
It doesn’t, however, mean you can’t still enjoy the holidays and engage in meaningful activities as a family.
Becoming more cognizant of how your loved one’s abilities have changed will help you adjust old activities or discover new ones that are less taxing and yet also enjoyable. Here are some things to consider as we approach Christmas week:
If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, you can visit the Alzheimer’s Association website, which has plenty of ideas and activities geared towards individuals with dementia.
Above all, try not to expect too much of yourself or your loved one as you substitute new activities for old familiar ones. If an activity is clearly not enjoyable, don’t persist. Let your loved one’s behavior be your guide. Switch to another activity or take some time out to rest. Taking it slowly will enable both you and your loved one to discover some new activities that can be just as enjoyable and memorable as the old ones.
Danyanique Hughes, Life Engagement Director for Harvester Place Memory Care in Burr Ridge, Illinois, was doing some online research recently and came across some information about Northern Illinois Food Bank and their programs to feed those in need in the Northern Illinois area. The Northern Illinois Food Bank is a non-profit group whose goal is to help solve hunger throughout an entire 13 county service area. They are proud member of Feeding America and are the source of nutritious food, innovative feeding programs and hope for over 500,000 people every year.
Danyanique was impressed with what she read about the food bank organization and asked if the residents of Harvester Place could lend a hand. They could indeed! After a bit of planning, a group of residents headed out to the Food Bank warehouse and got to work. Their job was to prepare food products by removing the bar codes and sorting and pack them into boxes so that they could be distributed to families in need.
Theresa Kenaga, Community Relations Director, noted how the residents enjoyed getting out of their familiar environment and out in the broader community. She was also impressed with the level of involvement by community residents. “Residents felt a strong sense of purpose and commented that it was good ‘to get out to work’,” she said.
Socialization is very important for aging individuals, as is establishing a sense of purpose. Studies have shown that aging individuals, when experiencing a sense of purposefulness, feel better both physically and emotionally. It can also have a positive cognitive impact. Engaging in a purposeful activity can help stimulate the brain; something very important for those with dementia.
The Harvester Place staff enjoyed engaging with residents as they packaged the food items and experienced their own sense of purpose in helping the residents help to feed the hungry. While this is the first time they have participated, it won’t be their last. The staff and residents of Harvester Place plan to stay involved with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, hoping to participate quarterly, or even monthly, if possible.
The photo shows the following individuals, from left to right: RuthAnn Green, Alexis Alvarado, Grace Doerk, Suzanne Gasperini, Danyanique Hughes, Billie Sklair, Mario DeMeo, Carole Considine (Harvester Place Executive Director), Normal Jaffe, Frances Franci. Seated is Manda Klancir.
By nature, those who care for loved ones tend to be known as “givers”. They are constantly putting their own needs last on the list while they devote time, energy and love to serving a beloved family member or friend. Caregivers of individuals with dementia have an added layer of challenges as they strive to take care of a loved one, often an aging parent, while juggling all kinds of additional responsibilities and other commitments, including work and family obligations.
We hear from many family caregivers who tell us they simply can’t remember the last time they had a break from the day to day responsibilities of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, or other dementia. For many, it has become a 24/7, 365-day commitment, a lifestyle devoid of “down time” let alone a weekend out of town or vacation.
If this description fits you, maybe this should be the holiday season when you give yourself the gift of time; time to do those things that you have been neglecting over the past months, or even years. You can do this by scheduling some “respite” time for your loved one at a local memory care community. An ideal length of time for respite is a few weeks or more. This allows you to shift gears and start going about the business of caring for the caregiver; in this case, you.
Here are some key benefits of respite care that you should know about:
This last point is an important one. Not all memory care communities are the same, nor are their respite programs. Remember that respite should be a meaningful experience for your loved one, not just a holding tank while you are away. Therefore, be sure to evaluate all your potential respite sources. Ask questions. Find out what activities your loved one will be included in. Be prepared to say “no” if you don’t get the answers you’re looking for.
Family caregivers who utilize our communities’ respite care services often tell us that the break has left them with a renewed sense of purpose and has given them the time they need to recharge and gain back some peace of mind that had eroded over time. They also report that their relationships with friends and family members have improved as they have been able to reconnect with those they had lost touch with.
If you are caring for someone with dementia, now is a good time to organize some time off. Why not schedule a few weeks after the holidays? Make 2020 the year that you give yourself the gift of time. It may be the most important gift that you and your loved one will receive.
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What are you thankful for? Thanksgiving is the time of year when we stop to think about, not what we don’t have, but what we do have in life. For some it may just be having a roof over your head. For others, it’s having the love of a husband or wife, or a loyal friend. The very act of feeling gratefulness can be transformational. Perhaps that’s why for so many people, Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday. It’s a time to reflect and give thanks for big and small blessings
For caregivers, there are days when finding things to be thankful for can require a great deal of effort. After all, the daily challenges caregivers face are unique and nobody can truly understand the anxiety, stress and grief you face each day and must find ways to overcome.
And, yet, finding something to be thankful for can have a therapeutic impact that is hard to quantify and yet is very real. Studies have shown the act of feeling thankful can improve sleep, strengthen relationships and even help keep depression at bay. With that in mind, below are a few recommendations from professional therapists and other family caregivers to help you tune into a more “thankful” side of your daily life.
You may be surprised that by finding people, things and moments to be thankful for, it can bring some light into otherwise difficult, challenging days. Make sure, too, that you identify external sources that can be of help to you. Dementia support groups and respite care are two excellent ways caregivers can give back to themselves.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the positive things and people in your life. And, while it may take some time and effort to identify it, there is always something to be thankful for. Take the time to find it, and share it with those you love.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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If you are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, you know that, at times, nothing feels more isolating. Nobody truly understands the very special and challenging world in which you are living. Nobody understands those sleepless nights and how hard it is to get out of bed each morning. Nobody, that is, except perhaps another caregiver with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease.
That is why, as a caregiver, you need to connect with other caregivers. You need to be able to share your deepest fears and worst moments with those who intuitively understand. That’s what dementia support groups were created to do. They connect caregivers to each other; all in a supportive environment, facilitated by licensed professionals who know how to ensure that the needs of all participants are met.
Here are just a few of the benefits that a support group brings to family caregivers:
Finally, attending a dementia support group gets you out of your house and away from your day to day routine. It gives you something to look forward to, especially when you’ve had a tough week, knowing that you will have an hour or two to debrief, relax and form new, supportive relationships. Attending a support group represents a commitment to yourself to do something for yourself.
Our Anthem Memory Care communities hold regular dementia support groups. Take time to find one near you.
Every caregiver’s journey is unique. The path you travel will be different from anyone else’s. Finding a good dementia support group is the first step towards lighting that path ahead.
When the late fall to early winter chill sets in, most of us bundle up and move on. We understand that we will eventually reach our destinations and find ways to warm up. We may complain about the weather, but we accept it and modify our clothing and commutes to account for it.
When an individual has dementia, however, they may not recognize the weather changes in ways that those with normal cognitive ability do. While they may feel cold, they may lack the organization skills to find a sweater or jacket, let alone put it on. They may not remember where the thermostat is. Or they may resort to unsafe ways of warming up, such as turning on the oven burners or stove.
As the weather becomes colder, it is important for those caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia to be especially aware of the potential harm weather swings can bring.
Here are some things family caregivers should be on the lookout for and ways to keep your loved ones safe and comfortable as wintery weather ushers in.
Changing seasons and the weather that accompanies them are but a passing concern for most of us. However, it is important for caregivers to realize the discomfort and confusion that weather changes can bring to loved ones struggling with dementia. By taking the time to plan properly and prepare your loved one, both inside and outside the home, you can help avoid potential issues and hazards.
Winter weather can be a refreshing change and bring a festive touch as we approach the holidays. Make sure you are doing everything you can to keep your loved one with dementia comfortable and safe. It will make for a more enjoyable season for all of you!
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Every year, since 1983, we’ve been recognizing November as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. The idea behind it is to spread awareness of Alzheimer’s and to spotlight research aimed at finding a cure. Since 1983, the number of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease has nearly tripled. So acknowledging and continuing research efforts is more important than ever. Here are a few facts about Alzheimer’s disease, courtesy of the Alzheimer’s Association:
Perhaps you have participated in one of thousands of fundraising activities held across the country to support the Alzheimer’s Association. Involvement in these organizations is important to keep the forward momentum going and keep research on the cutting edge. Here are some things you can do to get more involved in supporting the fight for the cure, not only in November, but throughout the year.
A great place to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and get insight as well as support, is by visiting the Anthem Memory Care blog site. We cover a wide range of topics, from aging, to health to emotional strategies for coping with a loved one struggling with dementia. You can access the blog on our home page. Just scroll down to find the blogs.
At Anthem Memory Care communities, we believe in bringing awareness of Alzheimer’s disease every month of the year. Only by organizing and working together, can we make the progress necessary to forever putting an end to this devastating and debilitating disease.
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No one likes to be physically restrained. Whether it involves pinning down the arms or preventing an individual from moving forward, physical restraint often has the opposite effect of its intention. Unwarranted restraint can elicit a violent reaction to free oneself, creating an escalation of resistance that can have negative results. This is especially true for individuals struggling with dementia. And it is one reason why Anthem Memory Care communities work hard to ensure our residents are provided with as much freedom of movement as possible, all the while keeping them safe and secure.
Of course, there are circumstances in which some physical restraint is necessary to protect an individual with dementia from injuring himself or herself. After all, aggression and agitation are often found in individuals with dementia, especially as the disease progresses. With that in mind, however, techniques to avoid restraint should be used whenever possible. Why? Because, for an individual with dementia, restraints can exacerbate their already fragile sense of autonomy, creating even more confusion and anxiety.
The Alzheimer’s Association describes unnecessary restraint of those with dementia as having the following negative impacts:
These are serious consequences to be avoided, whenever possible. If you have a loved one with dementia it is important to educate yourself on strategies that you can adopt to help you navigate away from using unnecessary restraints and identify alternative ways of dealing with agitation and aggressive behavior.
If you are evaluating memory care communities for your loved one, look for facilities with floor plans that enable residents to move around freely. Look for wide, open corridors without dead ends or alcoves that can become confusing. Finally, ask the caregivers what strategies they use to avoid unnecessary restraints on individuals.
As healthy individuals, we take for granted out ability to move freely from room to room, or take a stroll along a garden path, or walk the dog. Individuals with dementia deserve to live their lives in an environment that is safe and secure, and yet respects the human being inside and provides every opportunity to live as normal of a lifestyle as possible.
Why do colors sometimes seem to make us feel happier or more depressed? Are colors really that powerful in their ability to alter our moods? In many ways, the answer is “yes”, in that different colors and hues are interpreted differently in our brains, some having a profound, yet subliminal impact in how we feel at any different moment.
For years researchers have been studying the effect of different colors on the brain and human behavior. A study by Margaret Calkins, published in the Journal of Dementia Care, takes a look at the impact of colors on individuals living with dementia. While Calkins acknowledges that there may be certain personal and cultural variances between color interpretation, here are some of her observations:
Other organizations studying the impact of color on individuals with Alzheimer’s disease have characterized pink as having an uplifting effect, decreasing aggressive tendencies. Lime green is often used to increase visual attention. Some therapists have found that using blue in a room can actually lower blood pressure. Clearly color has the power to impact our feelings and emotional interpretation of the environment around us.
At Anthem Memory Care communities, we take the emotional impact of color seriously. We not only use color it in creative ways to optimize the environment, but also use contrasting colors to help our residents stay mobile and independent as long as possible.
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No, the holidays aren’t here yet. But they will be before you know it. So, if you are caring for a loved one with dementia, the time to plan is now!
The holidays bring with them special challenges for caregivers of loved ones who have dementia. If you’ve already been through a holiday season or two, you may have created a mental list of all the things you are not going to attempt this year. That’s understandable as the inclination for caregivers is often to go into hibernation mode when the holidays roll around. But this doesn’t have to be the case. There is still time to plan for the holidays, and there are things you can do to bring more of the joy back into the season. Here are some suggestions:
Above all, do your best to be flexible. There may be occasions when the hubbub of family gatherings becomes overwhelming for your loved one. Prepare yourself in advance for the potential of shortened visits or needing to cancel altogether. If you’ve updating your friends and family in advance, this will be much easier.
Caring for a loved one doesn’t mean that you have to wall yourself and your loved one away from holiday festivities. With proper planning, help from friends and family, and preparing yourself as well as your loved one before each gathering, you and your family can still find many moments of joy in the holidays.
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