Columns

“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” — Proverbs 17:22 You may recognize that verse, which is often paraphrased as “Laughter is good medicine.” And it is, though some would say that nothing about Alzheimer’s disease brings cheer — certainly nothing to make you laugh out loud. It would be very…

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and of course, its purpose is to create buzz and mindfulness about the disease. In the United States, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women. Skin cancer is No. 1, according to the American Cancer Society.

Death is a part of life. True, but in the face of loss, that’s not very comforting. Regardless of the circumstances, whether someone you love has been ill for a long time, passed away suddenly, or was burdened with dementia, the sadness that accompanies their passing is palpable. When my…

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you hadn’t already gathered from the evening news, we live in a dangerous and wicked world. While it may take a village to raise our kids, and for our purposes, to care for those with dementia, how…

Getting out and about is one of the challenges caregivers face with their loved ones. Isolation is a close, but unwelcome friend for both caregivers and their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. In the disease’s early stages, people may not experience a significant change in behavior, and peers probably won’t…

Ageism is brutal, especially when combined with a misunderstanding of dementia. Somehow, rude people forget that they will one day get old. If we’re fortunate, growing older is the road ahead for us all. It should be everyone’s goal, since growing older is better than the alternative. With this in…

Do you know the dirty little secret of caregiving? Here it is: No one loves it. None of us like to admit how much of a struggle it is, because it makes us sound like bad people. But caregivers who hate caregiving aren’t bad, just honest. Allow me to quickly…

By the time this column is published, Hurricane Laura will have made landfall. As I write this, all eyes are on Louisiana and Texas, but Arkansas and the mid-Mississippi region also will be affected. Of course, today we have learned the extent of devastation, but on this side of…

In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a survey of more than 100,000 people regarding their personal health. According to Jacob Bentley, associate professor of clinical psychology at Seattle Pacific University and a co-author of the study, caregivers had a 26% higher risk of lacking healthcare…

“I wish to do something great and wonderful, but I must start by doing the little things like they were great and wonderful.” — Albert Einstein With more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease, most of us either know someone who has been…