The Financial Fatigue of Caregiving Are you feeling the financial strain, or emotional and physical stress that comes along with caring for a loved one? This workshop will give you the tools needed to alleviate those stressors and help you to navigate your way around the additional expenses that caregivers endure. Read more
Social Isolation and the Holidays During the COVID-19 Pandemic Isolation has been a common theme of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the early days, we were encouraged to “socially isolate,” and while doing so is challenging for many of us, it is still considered to be a positive action for the good of our communities. But social isolation has a negative side, one that has existed long before the pandemic. Read more
Caring for Your Older Loved One’s Pet When the loved one we are providing care for has a pet, chances are we will provide care for their pet as well. While this can add to the time we spend and amount of tasks we manage as caregivers, it can also provide us opportunities for self-care and a way to begin difficult discussions with a loved one. Read more
Parkinson’s Disease: Recognizing Your Loved One’s Symptoms and Receiving a Diagnosis According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, more than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s Disease, and around 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year. Although it is the second most common degenerative neurological disorder after Alzheimer’s, many people are unfamiliar with the signs and symptoms, or confuse them for parts of the natural aging process. If we are caring for an older loved one, it’s important to recognize and understand Parkinson’s so we know when to begin seeking a diagnosis and how to better manage a loved one’s symptoms and care. Read more
4 Tips to Help Older Adults Stay Active in the Winter This winter will be an atypical one in many ways due to the COVID-19 surge limiting our ability to get outside, along with the usual concerns of cold and flu season and severe weather. However, even during more traditional winters than this one, the temptation to stay in bed and hibernate like bears until the warm weather comes back is hard to overcome. After all, when “the weather outside is frightful,” what’s better than relaxing in front of a delightful fire? Read more
Social Isolation and the Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed some normal family traditions this year. Not being with family and friends over the holidays may exacerbate feelings of social isolation and depression among older adults. Tamar Cooper, LISW-S, LICDC-CS, Associate Director of Behavioral Health Services, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, and Kerstin Yoder, MSSA LISWS, Social Worker/Mental Health Day Treatment Group Facilitator, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, share some tips for helping a loved one cope when you can’t be together, and learn how to help yourself let go of feelings of guilt you may be experiencing at this time. Read more
Coping with an Older Loved One’s Sleep Issues While chronic health conditions and medication interactions may also affect the sleep patterns of older adults, living under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic has further added to these challenges. Activities and finances have been disrupted, isolation has made people feel depressed, many are less physically and mentally active, fears around health and contact with others dominate public thinking and uncertainty has filled every aspect of daily living. Read more
What to Consider When Helping an Older Loved One Choose a Medicare Plan With Medicare’s Annual Open Enrollment ongoing from October 15 to December 7, you may have already begun discussions with your loved one on the basics of Medicare, such as differences from Medicaid and what the different plans and options are. But before such an important decision is made, it’s important to go more in depth by preparing the right questions with your loved one to guide the conversation and exploring the different points of consideration that will help determine which plan is best for your loved one’s individual needs. Read more
Having Difficult but Crucial Conversations with Loved Ones with Cognitive Impairment When conversations have a specific purpose beyond just small talk, the message we convey becomes even more important. All the people involved in the conversation will have a stake in its outcome. Will the message be received as intended? Will the messenger provide thoughtful and welcome insight? Who will come away not feeling like a winner? These are the crucial conversations we face as caregivers that may be necessary, but difficult to begin. Read more
Tips to Prepare Your Older Loved One for Winter During the Pandemic After getting by for most of the year under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have been able to adapt to this new normal. However, the coming winter will reintroduce challenges not seen to the same extent since the early months of the pandemic, such as the return of cold and flu season and limited opportunities to interact in safer outdoor environments. The holiday season is also approaching, forcing all of us to consider how our usual celebrations and traditions will have to adapt to the times. Read more
