Good communication requires both speaking and listening. Oddly enough, if you make a specific effort to listen, it can open doors. Once "heard," the other person may be more willing to hear your point of view. Deep listening is more difficult than it sounds. It's not...

For a teen, a relative's dementia can turn a close relationship into one that's now awkward, confusing, and embarrassing. And creates feelings of guilt. Teens and tweens benefit from learning the basics of grandma or grandpa's condition, such as "There are diseases of...

After you have scoured the Internet to help your relative find a potential new doctor—someone on their plan and with no obvious red flags—it's time to get more specific. The doctor's website may provide some descriptive information, but most likely, you'll want a...

For most family caregivers, frustration and guilt are common, as is anxiety and resentment. These feelings are normal and reasonable under the circumstances. It’s not realistic to eliminate negative emotions. Caring for an ailing family member IS emotionally...

Even pre-COVID, many 90-year-olds adamantly refused to go to a senior center, saying they didn't want to be around "all those old people." (!) Does this sound like your loved one? Admittedly, the senior centers of the past tended to focus on bingo and crafts. These...

With summer's warm weather, be on the lookout for dehydration in your loved one. The signs include confusion, fatigue, weakness, and sleepiness. Some people become dizzy and their balance is thrown off. Dry mouth, headaches, and muscle cramps are other symptoms of...

If the person you care for has dementia—memory or thinking problems from a condition such as Alzheimer's, a stroke, or Parkinson's—unpaid bills or a messy checkbook may have been your first sign that something was amiss. Certainly, in the later stages of dementia,...

Elderly parents are living longer. Children are often dependent for more years than expected. Add to this the ongoing responsibilities to spouse/partner and jobs, and there is little wiggle room for the millions of family caregivers who find themselves squeezed in the...

Many older adults experience swollen legs and feet. For some, it's because of sitting a lot and leading a sedentary lifestyle. For others, it's the water retention side effect of a medication. And for others, the swelling—called "edema"—is a symptom of a chronic or...

The brain is another organ to keep fit, and regular workouts are a good thing! Our brains enable many types of thinking: Problem solving, planning, attention, and memory. They manage our emotions and help us understand the emotions of others. Our brains also control...

Much of the strain of caring for a loved one lies in the loss of a predictable routine, a sense of "normalcy." Understanding the course of your loved one's condition—the rhythm of how it unfolds—can empower you to respond more flexibly to its challenges. Do any of...

Your loved one may be watching for phishing scams on email, but now there are scams carried out by short message service (aka, texting). "Smishing" scams rose 58% in 2021. Nationwide they cost victims over $10 billion. Seniors are a prime target, as three out of five...