Category: Health/Wellness Publisher: Create Space
ISBN-10: 1484148290
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 74
Copyright: April 25, 2013
ISBN-13: 9781484148297
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
Understanding Dementia and Caregiving provides both a perspective and suggestions for those who are caring for their aging parents, especially those who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. As experience is a great teacher, this book lends support from the author's personal journey with one of her loved ones.
If you are caregiving for loved ones, especially those who have received a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease, there are lots of books on this subject, which review the same topics in different ways.
Understanding Dementia and Caregiving For Your Aging Parents From A to Z attempts to look at the same subject matter through a different lens. While having a base of knowledge about the subject is important, information alone, or beyond a certain point, isn't the only ingredient you will need in order to cope with a dementia diagnosis. Consequently, this book is not an attempt to educate you on all the medical aspects of dementia, although they are touched on lightly.
Instead, it speaks to you from the heart and a personal standpoint. It lets you know some of what to expect and the emotions and thoughts you might have in response to your loved one's deteriorating condition, and it provides suggestions to help you cope.
Written by Ellen Gerst, a grief and relationship coach, who understands the journey you are about to or have already started, for she is traveling on this road, too.
Excerpt
G is for Glass Half Full
You have probably heard a variation of the story that tells of two people who look at the same situation and one sees the glass half full and the other half empty. It comes down to a matter of perspective.
In truth, every event in life is neutral. It is the individual who will color it with emotion in order to categorize and label the "event" as a positive or negative one.
Do not misunderstand this statement.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't feel your emotions. It's natural for you to be upset and emotional that your parents are aging, frail or suffering from dementia-like symptoms and not able to care for themselves. What is neutral about the event is that, while it is true, you can't change the facts about the situation - even though you wish you could.
Where your power lies now is in how you will ultimately reflectively respond vs. reflexively react to your parents' situation.
You will also have to decide the size of the role which you will play in their lives going forward and contemplate the effect of that decision on your life, as well as on your conscience.
As you come to grips with their mortality and your own, rather than denying your feelings, you need to fully embrace your emotions because that is how you will process them through your body. Part of your emotional work may also include pre-grieving the loss of the parents who once cared for you as you now switch roles.
Professional Reviews
Valuable Resource
I wish I had read this book a year ago. Now dealing with my mother's increasing dementia, many of the things discussed by Gerst are things I had already dealt with, but I found new ideas, as well as affirmation for what I had already done in this book. A great resource for those about to or already dealing with parents showing signs of dementia.
Books
I bought this book because my mom suffers from dementia. I am a nurse, so it helps me and my sister who is her caretaker. She said it has helped her so much. I recommend it to everyone.
Concise, Informative and Easy-to-Read
As an Administrator for both an Adult Day and a Residential Facility, I highly recommend this book for anyone caring for a loved one with an Alzheimer's or Dementia diagnosis. Ms. Gerst does a great job of keeping the book concise without taking away from the content, which is informative, straightforward and easy-to-read. The author also explains the basics of dementia (and gives some really GREAT advice) without bogging down the pages with a lot of medical jargon. Navigating a dementia diagnosis can be a difficult process for everyone, but this book could be used as a guide, making the process just a little easier. One of the best parts of the book is that it was written from personal experience and comes from the heart. I will definitely be recommending this to those family members coming into our facilities.
