Welcome back Careblazer. There are so many confusing symptoms in dementia and today I want to talk about 3 symptoms in particular that many Careblazers ask me about- Delusions, hallucinations, and illusions. 

Delusions are very strong, fixed beliefs that do not change not matter how much evidence is presented that proves that belief wrong. No matter what is reality or what rational arguments are presented, there is no changing the belief.  This is common in dementia as well as other mental disorders such as Schizophrenia. 

There are different types of delusions such as Erotomanic, Grandiose, Jealous, Persecutory, and somatic. One of the most common types that occurs in dementia and can be really hard for the Careblazer is the jealous type of delusion. This is when the person believes that their spouse or partner is being unfaithful and accuses the person of being unfaithful. Another very difficult one is Persecutory, believing that someone is following them, spying on...

Hey there Careblazer, welcome back.

Today, I want to talk about a common symptom in dementia that often confuses or frustrates the Careblazer. The symptom is - your loved one acting and looking completely fine to everyone else but acting out and being more difficult around you. 

If you would rather watch my video on this topic, click here. 

Now in dementia, because there is no outward sign you can see or there is no sign that tells others a person gas dementia, it’s easy for people to not realize that something is wrong with them. It’s sometimes not until the late stages of the disease when physical signs become obvious that others can see that something isn’t right.

But what I’m talking about is that your loved one might be angry, frustrated, and resentful of you. They might resist you, not engage in meaningful conversation with you, might be a difficult person to be around much of the time. BUT as soon as other people come around- say other family...

Welcome back Careblazer. Are you like many other caregivers I talk to? Do you feel like self-care is a luxury and not a necessity? 

I hope not, but what I want to talk about today is how many times caregivers feel that self-care is something they can put off and put off and put off. 

If you would rather watch my video on this topic, click here. 

Caregiving is a long road...it can last decades and if you don’t take care of yourself along the way...even if you don’t feel like it’s absolutely necessary, you are at risk for many different health conditions, mood disorders, and dementia yourself. 

It’s easy to feel like self-care isn’t necessary especially when things are going relatively well and you feel okay. But this is how I want you to think about caregiving and self-care. 

If you can picture yourself like a car. You drive pretty far and log a lot of miles without needing much attention or care. Maybe a gas fill up every...

Hey there Careblazer. Welcome back. Today I want to talk about a struggle that many of you tell me about. It’s about the struggle and guilt you have when you make decisions for your loved one that they don’t agree with. 

If you would rather watch my video on this topic, click here. 

It’s the struggle between what you think is best for your loved one and what your loved one wants. 

Let’s say your loved one wants to drive a car and you are trying to stop them from driving because they are no longer safe. 

Maybe your loved one wants to continue to do the finances on their own, but you need to step in because he’s making too many mistakes, giving money away, being a victim of scams and so on. 

Maybe your loved one wants to eat nothing but cookies and coke during the day and you are having to step in to make sure they get more nutritious foods. 

There are no shortage of examples of decisions you are making for your loved one...

Hey there Careblazer, welcome back!

There were some common questions that came up in my most recent round of my care course- my private course where club members get access to me and can ask me live questions during weekly live Q & A sessions. The question was basically about whether or not to tell your loved one that you are leaving the home for a while. 

If you would rather watch my video on this topic, click here. 

For many people with dementia, when you say you are leaving this can strike up a lot of anxiety and questioning and it can make it difficult for you to leave the home. 

“Where are you going? Why are you leaving? Can I go? Don’t go. What am i supposed to do here. Leave, I don’t need anyone to watch me" and on and on and on. 

This can sometimes even make you question whether or not you truly need to leave the house or whether you should just stay home. Maybe that’s the easiest thing to do to avoid confrontation, minimize...

Hi there Careblazer, welcome back.

Today I want to talk about dementia caregiver expectations. You already know there will be hard times, you have already had your fair share of hard times. 

I want to take some time today to talk about your expectations on a little bit of a deeper level and give you a new way to think about those difficult moments when they do arise, because you know there are more coming your way in the future. 

If you would rather watch the video on this topic, please click here. 

Dementia is a really difficult thing for family to care for. It’s one of the few conditions that no matter how much great care you give, how much love you give, how much attention you give, no matter what you sacrifice, how much you do, your loved one is going to get worse. It’s awful. I wish it was different. 

Because the dementia is going to get worse, that means that there is a high chance that whatever challenges you are faced with now, you will...

Welcome back Careblazer!

I'm happy to be here. Today I’m going to talk about a simple way to handle any embarrassing behaviors or comments your loved one may say to others when out in public. 

But first, I just want to give a heartfelt thanks to all of you who have subscribed to my channel and continue to support the Careblaozer movement AND are committed to giving great care to your loved one with dementia. It really means a lot. Thank you. If you haven’t already subscribed, all you have to do is hit that red subscribe button on your screen, it’s completely free and it will ensure you don’t miss any new video announcements. Thank you. 

Okay, let’s get started. 

Have any of your ever cringed at the times when you take your loved one in public? Worried about what they might say or do in public? I’m sure many of you have experienced some embarrassing moments when you felt at a loss of what to do or say to others who experienced your...

Welcome back Careblazer. Today I want to share with you something to help you cope with caregiver stress. 

If you watched the March 10th episode with Nutritionist, Sunny, then you know she applied this to urges to wanting to eat junk food. I think it’s an easy wonderful way to also respond to many urges and reactions in life.

If you feel that you sometimes react before you think, often causing more problems and frustrations in your caregiving situation, then this might be helpful to you. 

If you would rather watch my video on this topic, click here. 

We all lose our cool from time to time. And if you haven’t watched my video on dementia caregiver anger, you can click here to get some information on how to respond to a very natural and normal reaction to a stressful situation. 

This is an additional way to help you through those situations to help hopefully reduce some of the actions you are making that seem to be making things worse. If...

Welcome back Careblazer. Today I wanted to do another Careblazer Q & A. This is the segment where I answer your questions. If you ever have any questions you want me to answer, make sure you leave them in the comments section. I review all my questions and comments and choose them for future video topics or to use in these segments. 

This video is sponsored by my Care Club. It’s a private course dedicated to improving dementia caregiver stress & improving your interactions with your love done with dementia. It’s a way to start living a life you feel good about again. I believe strongly that it is possible to value yourself and do a wonderful job at caring for your loved one with dementia. In that course I do regular live Q & A sessions with the members.  If you want to be alerted to the next time this course is available, be sure to sign up for the next care class announcement. 

Okay,  let’s get started. 

Is there a possibility...

Welcome back Careblazer!

Today I want to share a quick tip that can help improve your relationship with your loved one with dementia. It’s simple, it’s quick, and you can start today. 

If you would rather watch my video on this topic, click here. 

The tip is to catch your loved one being “good,” doing good things, enjoying themselves, and any other activity or behavior that you find welcoming or at the very least - not disturbing. 

With everything that you’ve got going on in your life and your caregiving situation, it is so easy to be hyper aware of all the challenges and difficulties. I don’t think any Careblazer needs any more help noticing all the things that aren’t going to well or noticing all the areas of struggle. 

In fact, as humans we are hard wired to notice the negative events and to let those negative moments or events impact us more heavily than the good. Our brains are literally wired to notice more bad...