Sleep

with Deanna Smith. Published previously in the Port Planet, January 2009 Most adults need eight hours of sleep to function well.  Many may think they can get by on less, but actually less than 10% of the population can do this.  If you are sleepy at bedtime, and are not sleepy during the day, you …

Four challenges to recovering from family caregiving

Does this sound like your story? You have been taking care of your loved one. She may be experiencing dementia, heart disease, a traumatic accident, cancer, or a combination of chronic illness and decreased mobility related to aging. Most of your time, thoughts, and resources have focused on your her needs. Possibly you have given …

What Healthcare Doesn’t Know About Recovering After Family Caregiving

When my time as a family caregiver came to an end, I started searching for a solution in my favorite healthcare journals. Nothing. Expanding my search, I checked scholarly article search engines, Pub Med, and more. Very little. Becoming a bit desperate, I did a general internet search. There I found an abundance of blogs …

Key points pertaining to the transitional life phase of family caregiver recovery

“My friends want me to go out with them, I need to find a job, and my home is a disaster. It’s been 6 months since my partner passed on. I was so busy taking care of him, lots of things just didn’t get done. I’m far behind on home maintenance, car maintenance, my own …

Serenity for the Holidays

Shopping, cooking, lots of family time, busy days, and late nights.  It’s so easy to become overwhelmed with everything that’s taking up your time and energy.  During the holidays it’s even more important than usual to remember to relax and enjoy some serenity.  Here are suggestions to make the holidays less stressful and more meaningful. …

Cancer and Integrative Medicine

Op/Ed I despise news bytes that misrepresent health and medical research especially those pertaining to my passion for holistic, integrative medicine. A recent sensationalized claim about complementary medicine and cancer deaths has given rise to my righteous indignation. Please bear with me and read on - your health may depend upon it! Evidence based integrative …

Six Ways to Get Centered, When Chaos Surrounds You

When spinning out of control, instinct guides you to grab onto whatever you can use to control the situation.  Why doesn’t this work? Well, controlling medical emergencies, workplace distress, current events, family drama, weather disasters, traffic jams, and the behavior of friends and colleagues just isn’t possible. There is so little you can actually control. …

The Race to Recovery for Family Caregivers

The warning read, “Getting out of this car requires significant flexibility and strength in your knees, back, and shoulders. Please do not sit in the car if you have difficulties in those areas.” Four years ago, I would have backed away. Four years ago, if I was at an auto show, I would have been …

Helping long term care residents with dementia feel calm, safe and happy

Dementia can be distressing to residents experiencing it as well as to their caregivers. While you can’t know what having dementia is like without the personal experience, and who wants that, you can often see visual signs of stress, anxiety, confusion, anger, and frustration. A safe and calm environment contributes to the quality of life …

Substitute caregivers: respite when family caregivers need a break

Calm and centered caregiver series      Family caregivers, do you need someone to substitute for you? If you take care of a loved one who cannot care for themselves, ‘respite’ is the official name for help so you can take a break.  Even if you find caregiving to be a blessing, research indicates family …