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Featured Guest Blog: Dr. Zachary White discusses The Challenges and Benefits of Explaining Yourself and Your Care Situation(s) to Family, Friends, and Health Professionals. As well as, how the Caregiver Transformation Retreat, facilitated by himself, Amanda LaRose, Donna Thomson and Aaron Blight will help address these caregiving challenges. When care meets love, everything […]
Featured Guest Blog:
Dr. Zachary White discusses The Challenges and Benefits of Explaining Yourself and Your Care Situation(s) to Family, Friends, and Health Professionals. As well as, how the Caregiver Transformation Retreat, facilitated by himself, Amanda LaRose, Donna Thomson and Aaron Blight will help address these caregiving challenges.
When care meets love, everything changes. Once you become a caregiver, your existing relationship with your loved one is both the same and different. Your relationship with your friends and family is both the same and different. And nearly everything you once took for granted—the parts of your life that made so much sense—may suddenly feel strange and unfamiliar, overwhelming and disorienting.
My own life experiences as a caregiver, my role as a professor of communication, and my academic research on caregiving across the life spectrum tell me that caregiving is not only about what you do with your loved one, but also how you begin making sense of what is happening to you and your loved one, and how you seek to share your care experiences with others.
Too often, we feel compelled to put on caregiver masks to “protect” our loved ones and save our precious emotional energy from others’ well intentioned but often disappointing responses. Over time, we may find ourselves simply giving people what we think they want to hear, creating feelings of aloneness and resentment.
Unless we give ourselves permission to meaningfully examine how our caregiver role and relationship impacts our beliefs, values, and ways of connecting with others, we will remain voiceless, adrift in other people’s clichés and assumptions. Too often, caregivers miss out on the opportunity to collaboratively engage others in the midst of their care experiences.
I am proud to be a part of the Caregiver Transformation Retreat because caregiving requires that we reorient ourselves to what is happening so we can begin reclaiming the meaning(s) of our care experiences in ways that work for us.
Together, at the Retreat, we will learn communication skills and strategies designed to help you communicate more effectively and authentically with audiences that matter to you.
Together, we will discuss new ways of of thinking about and sharing your experiences that more closely align with your lived experiences, care constraints, and emerging values and insights.
Together, we will practice how to explain difficult truths to family, friends, work colleagues, and providers.
Together, we will explore the value of sharing “good” news so that the full range of your everyday care experiences are identified, remembered, and valued, increasing the likelihood of ongoing caregiver self-compassion and resilience.
Together, we will enhance your connection literacy to help you better identify and receive the kinds of in-person and online support that are most useful and valuable to you throughout your care journey.
Whomever we are and wherever we are in our care journeys, we can only find ourselves when we hear ourselves, out loud, begin to integrate and communicate the parts of our care experiences that make us—us. It’s never too early or too late to begin this process . . .
Dr. Zachary White earned his Ph.D. in communication from Purdue University. He is an Associate Professor in the James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte. His research and teaching explore a range of care experiences, including birth (parental NICU experiences), chronic caregiver experiences (spousal caregiving), and end-of-life caregiving. As an award winning university professor, Zachary teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses addressing topics such as provider-patient communication, caregiver communication, the patient experience, health and illness narratives, digital health literacy, online social support, and sense making amidst life transitions. He is the co-author (with Donna Thomson) of The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). He blogs at The Unprepared Caregiver (www.unpreparedcaregiver.com).
Deciding when to move to a senior living community or to transition a loved one to a community is a very difficult decision. How do you know when the time is right? Owner, Amanda LaRose, LCSW, C-ASWCM, was interviewed by Peggy Breda owner of A Family Tie, and Toni Reinhart owner of Positive Dementia Care […]
Deciding when to move to a senior living community or to transition a loved one to a community is a very difficult decision. How do you know when the time is right? Owner, Amanda LaRose, LCSW, C-ASWCM, was interviewed by Peggy Breda owner of A Family Tie, and Toni Reinhart owner of Positive Dementia Care Training, on the topic of what to look for when you are trying to decide if it is time to move yourself or a loved one to a community. Download the interview here When to Move-Interview.
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I have been using my essential oils more at home in my personal life, but also in my office with patients and realized I have not shared with our community how helpful they can be! Essential oils help support the microsystems of the body and provide rapid and sustained improvement for people in regards to […]
I have been using my essential oils more at home in my personal life, but also in my office with patients and realized I have not shared with our community how helpful they can be! Essential oils help support the microsystems of the body and provide rapid and sustained improvement for people in regards to their overall well-being. Whether emotionally or physically essential oils can help in many ways and there is an abundance of research backing it up. The fields of psychology and biology show that the smell of aromas hit the receptors of the brain and triggers certain emotions, memories, and actual changes in the body. This video shares more about the specifics about how essential oils can help individuals and families lead a more well-balanced life. It even discusses the benefits for elders and how a simple hand massage with lavender oil can decrease anxiety and agitation. At the same time it helps lessen the stress of caregivers. Please check out this video and let me know if you have any questions. – Amanda LaRose, Owner
Do you care for an elder, a child, clients, or someone in need? Then it is important for you to also remember to take care of yourself! Just as the the flight attendants advise you on an airplane to put your oxygen mask on before helping someone in need sitting next to you. If you […]
Do you care for an elder, a child, clients, or someone in need? Then it is important for you to also remember to take care of yourself! Just as the the flight attendants advise you on an airplane to put your oxygen mask on before helping someone in need sitting next to you. If you do not take care of yourself you can not do your best in caring for others. Self-Care is defined as anything good you do for yourself. There are many benefits of Self-Care, but here are the highlights; better productivity, improved health, improved self-esteem, increased self-knowledge, and more to give to others. Self-care can come in many different forms; sensory, emotional, spiritual, physical, and social. For example, sensory self-care can be a massage, a bath, smelling essential oils, or being in nature listening to the birds or looking at the flowers while feeling the sun and breeze on your skin. Emotional self-care can be laughing, talking to a therapist, letting your anger out in a healthy way by hitting a pillow, or forcing yourself to smile and think positive things. Spiritual self-care can be meditating, praying, or being in nature. Physical self-care can be exercising, sleeping well and eating healthy. Last but not least is socializing with people who enrich your life with love, joy, support and laughter. If we put more effort in our self the rest will fall into place. Please find ways to take care of your self!
Many people have sleep disturbance, where they either have difficulty falling asleep, struggle to stay asleep, or sleep too much. It happens in adults of all ages, but especially elders. There are many suggestions about how to improve one’s sleep, but sometimes people feel at a loss because maybe they have tried everything. It is […]
Many people have sleep disturbance, where they either have difficulty falling asleep, struggle to stay asleep, or sleep too much. It happens in adults of all ages, but especially elders. There are many suggestions about how to improve one’s sleep, but sometimes people feel at a loss because maybe they have tried everything. It is important to first explore why the sleep disturbance may be happening; is it diet, lack of exercise, stress, no regular bedtime routine, a medical problem, or too much stimulation before bed? Once you figure out what could be contributing to the sleep disturbance, it is important to try one coping skill at a time. If an individual tries multiple things at once, they won’t know what was actually helpful.
If those coping skills don’t work speak with your doctor or a counselor for other ways of coping. Sleep is very important, so I hope you can find yourself having a good night sleep tonight!
Do you ever wonder what are the best resources in Northern Virginia for elders? We can help you find the best elder care solutions for your needs and goals! We provide a free consultation by phone, so we can get a better understanding of your situation.
Do you ever wonder what are the best resources in Northern Virginia for elders? We can help you find the best elder care solutions for your needs and goals! We provide a free consultation by phone, so we can get a better understanding of your situation.
There are 7 million caregivers in the nation who do so from a long-distance. In these situations there is increased stress, because the worry is more extreme when you cannot physically be present to support an elder in their home. Please consider establishing a relationship with a Care Manager who can ease your worries by […]
There are 7 million caregivers in the nation who do so from a long-distance. In these situations there is increased stress, because the worry is more extreme when you cannot physically be present to support an elder in their home. Please consider establishing a relationship with a Care Manager who can ease your worries by providing in-home care, oversight, and accompaniment to doctors’ appointments. Some think of a Care Manager as the specialist who oversees all of the moving pieces. Similar to how a Primary Care Physician oversees your health and wellness, and your Accountant your finances, a Care Manager will help oversee eldercare!
Many focus on weightloss for a new years resolution, which is not necesaarily bad, but why not strive to take care of yourself in multiple ways. If you can’t take care of yourself how can you care for others? Find ways to care for your overall well-being.
Do you know an elder who lives at home that has cognitive impairment and wanders? If so, you are likely concerned for their safety. If they do not have someone with them at all times they should either move to a Memory Support facility or have 24/7 care at home. If they do stay at […]
Do you know an elder who lives at home that has cognitive impairment and wanders? If so, you are likely concerned for their safety. If they do not have someone with them at all times they should either move to a Memory Support facility or have 24/7 care at home. If they do stay at home with care here’s a tip to make it easier on the Caregiver. Use a battery operated door alarm on all doors so the Caregiver is aware of when they are trying to leave the house.
Daylight Savings Time affects everyone, but if you are caring for an elder who has Sundowner’s Syndrome due to Dementia, it can be more difficult to adjust to the time change. Everyone’s Circadian Rythyms are affected when we turn the clocks back or forward. When individuals have Dementia their brains are already tired after working […]
Daylight Savings Time affects everyone, but if you are caring for an elder who has Sundowner’s Syndrome due to Dementia, it can be more difficult to adjust to the time change. Everyone’s Circadian Rythyms are affected when we turn the clocks back or forward. When individuals have Dementia their brains are already tired after working hard all day to work through the cognitive difficulties they experience. In the afternoons, the brain is tired and overworked. As a result, Daylight Savings Time and Sundowner’s Syndrome often cause changes in mood, anxiety, and wandering, all in the late afternoon and early evening. Here are some tips to help lessen these symptoms; keep naps to one or two times a day and less than 20 minutes, keep as many lights on as possible, and try to keep a routine every day.
