Dementia is not an illness, but rather a group of hundreds of diseases with different and sometimes common symptoms. Yet, every day I come across caregivers and persons with a dementia diagnosis, whose only knowledge of the condition affecting them is, “He has (or I have) dementia.” This happens at all stages of dementia,.

This is what the Presence Project is really about: This is the place you may arrive at thanks to Presence Care practice..

The elevator door opened, and here we were, meeting again. I greeted her, and right away, she announced, “I have two things to tell you: I am very healthy, and I need you to help me find my husband.” Not missing a beat, I reflected that those were very good things. “I am so.

Bringing mindfulness into an elder care organization has its share of funny moments. This week we decided to institute daily morning check ins for the whole community, including caregivers, managers, and our forgetful clients . . . On the first day, I made sure to sit next to Ed, and elder man with dementia,.

My office is right on the floor by one of the neighborhoods. I have become accustomed to Doris’s loud, mostly incomprehensible monologue about ‘her baby’. Doris spends a lot of time sitting by the dining room table, a familiar surrounding with her friendly aide always within earshot. Last night, I was about to leave.

I was told to go and keep Charlene company. ‘She is having a hard time.’ I find Charlene contorted in her wheelchair, and trying to get up.’ Safety first, she has been placed right against a table, brakes on her chair. She is restrained, for her own good. The aide comes by to make.

Until recently, most mindfulness-based approach to dementia care referred to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for dementia caregivers. Then came along the Presence Care Project, an initiative aimed at disseminating a new type of mindfulness-based training specifically designed to meet the unique challenges as well as mindfulness practice opportunities in dementia care. In the Presence Care.

It helps to step back and look at the big picture of dementia caregiving. Here are some facts worth pondering regarding the situation of the 15 million Americans currently providing care to a loved one with dementia – from the 2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report: 70% caregivers are women. 56% are 55.

It is one thing to teach about the grieving process of dementia. It is another to live it. Earlier today, I called my brother in France to discuss my upcoming trip to visit my mom there.  He updated me on her status. “I have noticed she has really deteriorated mentally. She thought I was.