Check out these tips to help with caregiving of those with dementia.
New Year, New Energized You. Take Charge !
Welcome to 2019. It's a new year and a new opportunity to set goals, make changes and take charge. To help you have the best start to the year ahead, we have found some helpful advice to guide your caregiver journey. This month's newsletter contains:
  • A reminder to update important information
  • 7 tips for boosting energy this year
  • Possible remedies for common family dynamics
  • Preparing for behavioral changes 
  • Something punny
Read on.

Start January with a Bang
 
Happy New Year! Our community activity calendar is full of fun this January. Click on the button below to view the month in its entirety.  Click on the link below.


Join us for the Caregiver Support Group Meetings on Jan. 8 or Jan. 22, the  second or fourth
Tuesday this month. ( Click here for the details )
Start the Year off Right: Update Important Information

Another year has flown by at what seems to be the speed of light. Where has time gone? As the new year begins, we want to help you to be prepared by having important information up-to-date in case of emergency. For you and the ones you care for, keep an updated list of the following and place in an easily accessed location.
  • List of prescribed medications and dosages, plus over-the-counter medications that are taken regularly including supplements/vitamins
  • Any allergies
  • Primary physician's full name and contact info
  • Pharmacist and location
  • Hospitals near by
  • Emergency contact info
7 Tips to Boost Energy 
in the New Year

Recharge and re-energize! As a caregiver, you serve a vital role in your loved one's life. To help keep you at your best, we found these 7 tips to boosting energy from the Mayo Clinic. Positive habits can help you build a great foundation to stay healthier mentally and physically. 

Common Family Dynamics and Possible Remedies

Family gatherings around the holidays can reignite stressful family dynamics--especially relating to decisions for care of a parent or loved one with dementia. Tensions may increase at times when the family must come together to make key decisions.
 
Ever wish there was a road map to get everyone on the same page? We have a few ideas.
 
At a recent ActivCare Town Hall Forum event, Daniel Sewell, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at UC San Diego, shared some potential remedies for navigating challenging family situations. Click on the link below for an excerpt of his presentation.
 
Skilled Nursing
Understanding (and Preparing for) Behavioral Changes 

As a caregiver, your day is filled with planning and organizing your loved one's routines and then, suddenly, a mood shifts. They become agitated or unjustifiable paranoid. How do you respond? Why did this happen?
 
Behavior changes do occur in those with dementia and can be triggered by a change in environment, an ailment, or a number of other causes.
 
While the caregiver might not have control over the behavior, they can manage how they react. The Southern Caregiver Resource Center has a great fact sheet for dealing with changes in behaviors and how to react.

Happy Face
Something Punny...

What is a New Year's Resolution?
It is something that goes in one year and out the other.
 
Three seniors are out for a stroll.
One of them remarks, "It's windy."
Another replies, "No way. It's Thursday."
The last one says, "Me too. Let's have a soda."
 

Inspiration
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia, author

ActivCare at Mission Bay  |   2440 Grand Avenue  |   San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 207-3334  |   ActivCareLiving.com