Contrary to popular belief, most older Americans with advancing dementia remain in their own homes. With that said, home safety is important for everyone, but especially those with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Falls are a leading cause of broken hips and other serious injuries in the elderly, and individuals with Alzheimer’s are twice as… Read more »
Are you facing a challenge? Don’t sweat it. Sleep on it. Sleeping allows for dream incubation, a method of guiding dreams with intention to help solve problems. This primordial dream programming ritual to “hatch an idea” was first referenced in the Chester Beatty papyri found near Thebes in Upper Egypt and presently housed in The… Read more »
When my sons were teenagers, they would ask me to talk in my “baby voice,” which I usually did on a moment’s notice just to make them giggle like when they were little. You see, this baby voice was like a Saturday Night Live bit. She was one foul-mouthed, pissed off baby. For a few… Read more »
While Alzheimer’s is the leading form of dementia, cognitive impairments in Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), combined with the movement symptoms of the disease, produce a greater impact on social and occupational functioning. Whether you are newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s, have lived with the condition for a while, or are a caregiver, educating yourself about the… Read more »
Simon Jacobson, renowned rabbi, author and founder/director of the Meaningful Life Center, explains that the biblical phrase, “I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me,” (Song of Songs 6:3) captures the very essence of a relationship. He notes that a relationship is a “mutually symbiotic fusion of two forces” and a reflection,… Read more »
A study conducted in 2019 by the Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH), an AARP-sponsored independent collaborative of experts in their fields, concluded that keeping heart and blood vessels healthy reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The study showed that risks associated with cardiovascular disease like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol… Read more »
Being a caregiver can be very fulfilling and challenging at the same time. Whether the position comes out of love or obligation, caregiving requires a lot of work. It calls on you to take care of your loved one, educate yourself about serious illnesses, keep up with medical appointments, acquire new skills— and still manage… Read more »
Guapo’s Giant Heart is the lovable story of a calf who is adopted into a pet-farm family by caretaker, Lynn Jamerson of Mecca. The true tale illustrates Guapo’s journey as he grows from a cute little calf into an extraordinarily large bovine. Written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins and illustrated by Lara Calleja, the… Read more »
My daily intention is to live consistently with an attitude of gratitude, or as Reverend Michael Beckwith states, “May you suffer from chronic gratitude.” Chronic gratitude. What a fabulous blessing to have in your life. According to William Chopik, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology and director of the Close Relationships Lab at Michigan State… Read more »
While the holidays are immortalized in song as “the most wonderful time of the year,” the fact is that they can also be the most stressful time of the year. This is true even if you and your family members are healthy and not filled with fear, anxiety or stress that comes with these challenging… Read more »
Most of us wish to spend our latter years at home, but when that is no longer an option, where will you go and what is the right choice for you? Senior living options include independent and assisted living facilities and resident/board and care facilities (B&C), but how are they similar, and how do they… Read more »
My last article, “Embracing the Unexpected” (July/August 2021), chronicled a severely wounded cat that showed up at my door this last April. He was a mere five pounds of sick and tired. That was the bad news. The good news is he is now thriving — physically. The mental emotional part is in question, which… Read more »
Aging is changing, and in response to this, the California Department of Aging has created a platform to create age-friendly communities statewide. During a recent webinar presented by the Department of Aging, we learned that 25 percent of Californians are now 60 years or older, and 68 percent believe they will lose independence as they… Read more »
We all want to leave COVID-19 behind in its malicious tracks and return to normal. But what will normal be like for you? I’ve talked to people who are making a jailbreak full speed ahead to life prior to March 2020, only to be disappointed because it no longer exists as they knew it. Sadly,… Read more »
After several months of delay, in June, the FDA approved a new drug, aducanumab, for treating early-stage Alzheimer’s disease in the hopes of slowing – if not reserving – cognitive decline. This medication is the first drug in nearly 20 years that targets the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, not just the symptoms. Aducanumab will go… Read more »
On April 27 of this year, I was sitting on my sofa in the TV room, and something appeared outside my window. At first, I couldn’t make out what it was. Perhaps a large rat? I could see it was missing hair on half its body, including a hairless tail, until a very full pompadour… Read more »
Did you know your life insurance policy is an asset you own? It is — just like your car or house. The Insurance Studies Institute estimates that 500,000 seniors a year will lapse their life insurance policies, walking away with little or nothing and leaving behind almost $100 billion in benefits. Why? The short answer… Read more »
Desert Health contributor Amy Austin, RN, PsyD, LMFT has published a warm and educational children’s book based on real characters from her own life. The book tells the story of Shaina, a striking black poodle, and her best friend Chuckles, a llama. The unlikely pair were actual friends and Shaina, a beloved pet of Dr.… Read more »
As we arrive in the moment and witness what is set before us, we choose how to relate while stepping into empowerment. We inadvertently toggle back and forth between judgments, such as assessing things as good or bad and comparing experiences, people or situations while trying to fix perceived problems. Embedded in our culture and… Read more »
“Dreams tell us many an unpleasant biological truth about ourselves, and only very free minds can thrive on such a diet.” — Sigmund Freud, Dream Psychology Freud viewed dreams as attempts by the unconscious to resolve conflicts through dream-work.1,2 Dreams are often a microcosm of our waking world. Dream-work may prepare us for the future.… Read more »