Today I want to talk about a caregiver emotion that isn’t talked about often even though it happens often- caregiver anger.

Do you ever get angry at your loved one for not doing something correctly? What about when they make a big mess? Do you feel that they are doing something on purpose to make your life more difficult? If so, then this post is for you. If you prefer to watch a video on the topic, you can watch me talk about this here.

There are so many emotions involved when being a dementia caregiver. Some of those emotions can be good, but often the emotions are frustrating, depressing, lonesome, and in some cases just plan mad.

When you think of everything that is involved in caring for a loved one with dementia, it’s not surprising that anger is a common emotion. You sacrifice time in caring for your loved one. You sacrifice hobbies and friendships because there just doesn’t seem to be the time for you to do those things since all...

Welcome back to the place where we talk about everything dementia. 

Today I am talking about Sundowning. A common symptom of dementia that leads to a lot of caregiver stress. If you'd like to watch the video, I did on sundowning, you can watch it here. Otherwise, keep reading. 

Sundowning, or Sundowning Syndrome is not actually a diagnosis. It's a term used to describe a variety of symptoms that commonly occur during the evening for people who have dementia. The medical community does not have one agreed upon definition, but common symptoms include:

•  increased confusion
• anxiety
• agitation
• pacing
• aggressiveness
• disorientation 
• mood swings
• hallucinations
• an unusually demanding attitude

It’s called sundowners syndrome or sundowning because these symptoms typically occur in the late afternoon, evening, or at night. This often means your loved one will also have difficulty sleeping and may be an an increased risk for wandering. 

Sundowning can occur in...

Well hey there Careblazer. I hope you and your loved ones are doing well.

Today’s, I am going to talk about how your expectations and society’s expectations about how you are supposed to feel all the time may actually be keeping you down instead of helping you. It’s a little bit of a different viewpoint than I think most people are used to hearing, and I hope that you find it helpful. I did a video on this topic and you can watch it here. 

Before I get into the details,  I want to take a moment to thank all of my amazing subscribers on YT and especially those who who are supporting me on Patreon. You are the reason why I do what I do. 

Okay, let’s get started.

Do you feel like you are supposed to feel happy most of the time? When you get frustrated, upset, or sad do you feel like something is wrong with you and that you shouldn’t feel that way? I want to take that pressure off of you.

It is...

Welcome back, I'm so happy you are here.

I am going to talk about a very important topic- dementia caregiver stress. Specifically, I want to focus on how you may be making your caregiving situation worse...without even realizing it.

I did a whole video on this topic and if you prefer to watch that instead of read, you can click here to watch now. 

This post is to help those of you who:

- have put your life on hold since caring for loved one with dementia

- feel depressed, lonely, frustrated

- haven’t done anything JUST FOR YOU in the recent past because all your time is given to caring for your loved one

I’m going to share 2 ways that you are making your caregiver situation worse and what you can do to start shifting the tides to live a life that you feel better about...all while caring for a loved one with dementia.

I’m also sharing some exciting about how to work with me further on dementia caregiver stress for those...

Well hi there, Careblazer. 

In anticipation of my upcoming live care class, this week’s video is all about how to handle the things about dementia that are outside of your control AND the one thing that is in your control.

If you prefer to watch the video I did on this topic, you can click right here to watch. 

There are sooo many things outside outside of Your control in caring for a loved one with dementia. I talk a lot about how your own behaviors and non-verbal cues impact your loved one with dementia, and I 100% believe your own actions can impact your loved one’s behavior for the better or the worse.

I also acknowledge that there are just some days that no matter what you do, things are not going well. Days when no matter how great you feed your loved one, exercise your loved one, take your loved one to the doctor, etc. that things will be out of your control.

In situations where your loved one with dementia...

Well hey there Careblazer. Have you ever heard of doll therapy for dementia? Basically, it's a practice that is becoming more common and it basically involves giving someone with dementia a baby doll to care for. I did a video on it an you can watch it here.

Although there are currently only a few research studies on this topic, studies are promising. Results show that doll therapy can be a way to reduce some of the difficult behavior symptoms of dementia like agitation, aggression, obsessive behaviors, wandering, and negative mood. Despite this information, there are some people who are against this approach. 

In this post, I'm going to talk about:

• Evidence for doll therapy
• Pros/Cons are against doll therapy
• And how to decide whether this is something you want to consider with your loved one.

What is doll therapy?

Doll therapy is basically giving someone with dementia, usually someone with moderate to severe dementia a baby doll. It’s...

Hi there Careblazer! Today I want to share  with you some common signs of caregiver stress and 5 things that you can start doing RIGHT NOW to help relieve some of your with Stress. Hint: Tip number 4 is my favorite. 

If you are feeling stressed (and what dementia caregiver isn’t stressed from time to time?), then read on to learn some easy, practical, free ways to start lowering your stress levels now. If you prefer to jump to the video where I talk about this, you can watch it by clicking here. 

I think most of you can recognize signs of caregiver stress because you are actually living the signs of caregiver stress. These are things like:

• Withdrawing from your friends, family, and hobbies.
• Feeling anxious about having to face another day.
• Difficulty sleeping because you are worried about how you are going to get everything done. 
• Feeling sad and depressed- maybe to the point you don’t even want to get out of bed.
• Feeling...

Hey there Careblazer! In this video, I talk about how to prevent your loved one's anger or frustration from getting worse. I share 10 tips to help reduce their anger and calm them down.

It’s common for people with dementia to sometimes accuse people of stealing things, see things that aren’t there, or simply just see you as someone trying to get in the way of them living life the way they want. Usually, the person giving them the most care (that's you!) gets the brunt of the anger.  These situations often lead to anger and frustration...but they don’t have to.

 Sometimes, it can seem like your loved one gets upset, frustrated, or violent completely out of the blue. Sometimes, it can seem like there is no clear trigger or sign of what caused them to get upset. That can be especially frustrating for you, because you have no idea what is causing the situation. Otherwise, if you did know what was making your loved one upset, you could to fix it so...

Hi there Careblazer!  I am often asked about the different stages of dementia. In this video, I describe the 2 most popular dementia staging models. But before I get into the details, it’s important to know a few things when it comes to dementia stages.

#1- No matter what type of dementia or what staging model is used, it’s important to think of dementia on a continuum. With 'no cognitive impairment' on one end and 'severe cognitive impairment' on the other.  Think of these stages as fluid with the ability for some slight changes, rather than a true stage that doesn’t change.

In many cases, it can seem like your loved one is stuck in between stages and that is okay too. Also factors such as daily environment, and daily schedules can help keep someone in a stage longer than others with similar dementia. You might notice that someone with dementia who takes a trip or does something out of the ordinary, may seem to struggle more...