Anticipatory grief has benefits of which we're not aware.

Is it normal to feel grief for someone when they're still alive? We may not realize that's what we're feeling. Many people assume it's a form of depression and treat it as such.

What we're feeling is actually called anticipatory grief. Millions of people deal with this feeling every day. It's not unique to those caring for someone with Alzheimer's.

In this episode, I talked with Harriet Hodgson about anticipatory grief. Harriet has been a freelance health and wellness writer for 38 years, but more importantly, she has experienced more than her share of suffering.

Harriet and I talk about the many forms of early grief, how the process can be beneficial, and how you can add it to your coping tools.

Harriet's book also tackles; grief as a reaction to change, early grief's symptoms and stages, response to early grief, and when early grief gets complicated.

Dying and grief are not topics most people want to discuss (or listen to), but I know you'll find this conversation enlightening and beneficial. You can also check out Harriet's book, Smiling Through Your Tears. Understanding the emotions, you're experiencing is another healthy step caregivers should take.

Smiling Through Your Tears

Related Episode

Moving On After Caregiving
Transcript
Help Support Fading Memories
We have partnered with Caregiver Chronicles to bring you a comprehensive 8-week course. This course covers diagnosis to transition. To learn more or to sign up go HERE

Friday Live Chats    Meeting ID is:  784 8232 5915     Password is:  Zd11VN

Some details about the course.

Payment options include: PayPal or Venmo @dryvette-jackson
Join Fading Memories On Social Media!
If you've enjoyed this episode, please share this podcast with other caregivers!  You'll find us on social media at the following links.

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Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. There you can see me in “action” and watch the bonus videos I share.

Want to learn from Jennifer in person (or virtually)? Wherever you'd like a training session, Jen is available. Contact her at fadingmemoriespodcast@gmail.com

 

 

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Caregiver Carols – a self-help book in song format

Caregiver Carols A Musical Emotional Memoir is a book with a unique twist. It focuses on dealing with the emotional aspects of caregiving. In this episode, my guest is Don Wendorf, who, like most of us, tackled caregiving, knowing he could continue his psychiatry practice, manage his care team, and do it all perfectly.

We know how that ends. One of Don's coping techniques is playing music. Don is not a huge fan of self-help books, so being a musician, he wrote his self-help book in a more lyrical fashion.

We're all aware of how songs help us remember things, so why not put caregiving tips into song format? He started by writing down thoughts as his caregiving got going, which led him to the emotions, behaviors, and all that he was feeling.

The book's idea is to help other caregivers with the emotional aspects that they are going through. Not surprisingly, while he was writing the book, he found the process cathartic. By sharing his writing with his wife, they grew closer and shared a deeper bond.

The other benefit of writing the book was seeing a pattern in his emotions and understanding the trial he was going through. Sharing these his journey with others helped them, and in turn, they could help him.

This episode is a delightful way to learn more about caregiving's emotional aspects and methods to cope with them. Stick around to the end, and you'll hear a special treat.

Don's Banjo Fund (book link)

Related Episode
Transcript
Help Support Fading Memories
We have partnered with Caregiver Chronicles to bring you a comprehensive 8-week course. This course covers diagnosis to transition. To learn more or to sign up go HERE

Friday Live Chats    Meeting ID is:  784 8232 5915     Password is:  Zd11VN

Some details about the course.

Payment options include: PayPal or Venmo @dryvette-jackson
Join Fading Memories On Social Media!
If you've enjoyed this episode, please share this podcast with other caregivers!  You'll find us on social media at the following links.

Facebook    Instagram    Twitter

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. There you can see me in “action” and watch the bonus videos I share.

Want to learn from Jennifer in person (or virtually)? Wherever you'd like a training session, Jen is available. Contact her at fadingmemoriespodcast@gmail.com

 

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As a new caregiver or one who has been caregiving for a while, you're going to hear how important it is to take care of yourself. Take care of yourself first. I'm sure, like most people, you think, “yeah, right! When am I supposed to do that?”

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We never know when it's our time for death. In just over four years, or 2025, the first of over 77 million baby boomers will turn 80. Our 8th decade is when frailty becomes common; memory loss affects 25% of us, and most will need help to get through the day.

Dementia and other diseases can affect personality, turning warm and friendly people argumentative, anxious, and self-centered. Dementia is not an individual tragedy. It is a family illness, rippling out in ever-widening circles that affect finances, cause physical burden, exhaustion, and anticipatory grief.

The pace of dementia moves so slowly that many linger in lockdown residences. Stolen from them is the option of natural death. Factors involved in this situation happen organically and without malice; Ill-conceived medical interventions, the need for care companies to break even, and families who are unwilling or unable to understand how to allow for a natural death.

There is a way to have our wishes known even if dementia makes it impossible for us to communicate them when needed. An Alzheimer's living will is a supplement to your advanced medical directive. It specifies how you want to be cared for if and when certain physical situations present themselves.

Get Your Alzheimer's Living Will
Related Episode
Caregiver Grief – A Practical Discussion
Transcript
Help Support Fading Memories
We have partnered with Caregiver Chronicles to bring you a comprehensive 8-week course. This course covers diagnosis to transition. To learn more or to sign up go HERE

 

Some details about the course.

Payment options include: PayPal or Venmo @dryvette-jackson
Join Fading Memories On Social Media!
If you've enjoyed this episode, please share this podcast with other caregivers!  You'll find us on social media at the following links.

Facebook    Instagram    Twitter

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. There you can see me in “action” and watch the bonus videos I share.

Want to learn from Jennifer in person (or virtually)? Wherever you'd like a training session, Jen is available. Contact her at fadingmemoriespodcast@gmail.com

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Visual Storytelling can help make complex stories easier to understand. It can deliver more impactful messages. It can make stories as relevant for readers as possible.

Why would someone choose to document visually such a difficult subject as dementia? There are as many answers to this as there are caregivers. For some, it's a way to process what they're going through. Whether this is the caregiver's journey or how to process grief, visual Storytelling is a therapeutic process for many.

In this episode, I talk to Gina Martin. She is the founder and CEO of The Bob & Diane Fund. She has been with National Geographic for 21 years. It was a long-held desire to help financially support photographers and their personal projects. Short of winning the lottery, it seemed as if this dream would never happen.

It did happen, and they have now awarded five major grants. Gina tells us all about the origin of the Bob & Diane Fund, the grants and, why it's essential to tell the story of Alzheimer's and dementia. If you've ever longed for a significant way to show someone what your caregiving days are like, this episode will give you that option.

Be sure to head over to their website to see all the images from this year's winner, Jalal Shamsazaran, and his project, The loss of Oral History.

The Bob & Diane Fund
Transcript
Help Support Fading Memories
We have partnered with Caregiver Chronicles to bring you a comprehensive 8-week course. This course covers diagnosis to transition. To learn more or to sign up go HERE

 

Some details about the course.

Payment options include: PayPal or Venmo @dryvette-jackson
Join Fading Memories On Social Media!
If you've enjoyed this episode, please share this podcast with other caregivers!  You'll find us on social media at the following links.

Facebook    Instagram    Twitter

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. There you can see me in “action” and watch the bonus videos I share.

Want to learn from Jennifer in person (or virtually)? Wherever you'd like a training session, Jen is available. Contact her at fadingmemoriespodcast@gmail.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download