Articles by Debbie Selsavage
Dementia creates such shocking changes in the ones we love, it is not surprising that we become fixated on the skills and abilities they are losing.
Medicine today is so driven by technology and pharmacology, we too often overlook the ways we can ease pain and improve quality of life through simple therapies based on love, compassion, respect, and dignity.
A delusion is a false belief that persists in spite of evidence to the contrary; an idea or object that is perceived incorrectly by the delusional person. Dementia symptoms often include delusional thinking, meaning that the person with dementia may perceive things quite differently than they really are.
Dementia is progressive, irreversible, and ultimately fatal. It attacks all of our senses and abilities, but is best known as a disease that destroys our memory. Typically, it attacks short-term memory first, then begins to erode older memories.
“Animatronics!” Wow, that’s a big word! But wait, don’t be intimidated. It’s simply a modern and high-tech version of something that has always worked so well for our loved ones living with dementia . . . Animal Therapy.
Medicine today is so driven by technology and pharmacology, we too often overlook the ways we can ease pain and improve quality of life through simple therapies based on love, compassion, respect, and dignity.
Providing care for a loved one living with dementia is one of the most exhausting care partner tasks there is, because the disease is progressive and ultimately requires attention 24/7.
I have a friend who spent a 35-year career in a northern state, and each year struggled with seasonal depression, especially in the gray months of January and February. Once retired, he headed for sunny Florida. It was not just the cold and snow he was tired of. It was those sunless months when his …
A few years ago, I spoke with a hospice chaplain who said, “You know, I don’t believe people die from dementia. I believe people with dementia die from neglect, loneliness, and grief!” I will never forget those words because they so accurately describe the cruelty of this disease.
Covid-19 has been tough on us this past several months. Isolation, fear of infection, and the confusing debate that has gone on over the scientific aspects of the virus are making us crazy! None of us is immune to the negative social impact of our situation, and especially not individuals living with dementia, their families, …