Self-Care 1

Taking care of someone with Dementia creates a lot of strong feelings.

If you're a caregiver living in the same home with your Loved One, I can only imagine the range of feelings is incredibly intense.

Through our own experiences and from my conversations with others, many caregivers and family members feel:

• worry
• anxiety
• fear 
• grief
• love
• joy
• panic
• peace
• helplessness
• loneliness
• exhaustion
• and so many more

Through those conversations, it appears that the negative emotions often overwhelm the positive emotions, especially when the caregiver is worn out.

So, how do we create some easy self-care?

For today let's focus on online ideas because we know that some people never have a chance to get out and about.

• Teepa Snow videos. She is brilliant and considered the leading expert on Dementia for a very good reason
• my own Quick Tips videos
• if you're on social media, you can check to see if there on support groups. Read the rules carefully to ensure you're going to feel safe in posting. Tread carefully at the beginning because not all online groups are created equally!
• check out the Alzheimer's sites for ideas to help you cope
• meditation apps and exercises
• I've used Calm and Triangle breathing successfully with students at school
• there are lots of options out there, keep looking until you find one that works for you

How about you? What other online supports do you use? Any experience with meditation apps?

Welcome!

Welcome to Dancing With Dementia.

Our family has been dealing with dementia for a few years now, and as a writer, I find it really helps to put my thoughts and feelings down on paper ... or screen as the case may be.

In many ways, Dementia hit us without any warning. We're an immigrant family and we didn't grow up with older relatives around us. We didn't know the difference between normal aging and signs of dementia.

We made a lot of mistakes.
We did a lot of things right. Many of these right choices were simply by accident.

We're not perfect, but we're working hard to ensure our Loved One, Lizzie, has the best quality of life possible.

This blog is going to be a way to share information, ask questions, and definitely provide a few laughs. As you get to know Lizzie through this blog, you'll see that there will always be laughs and smiles when she is involved! Smiles From the Dementia Files will be a regular feature.

For practical tips that we've found very helpful, you can check out my YouTube channel. I'll talk more about these tips and others on the blog as well.

The book, Dancing With Dementia will be available on March 31, 2020. It covers the story of our journey through Dementia as well as collects tips and advice into handy lists.

The book is now available for preorder at the following locations. The price will be at $0.99 (US) for the preorders and the first few weeks after release. Then the price will jump, so get your copy now!

Amazon.com           Amazon.ca.          Apple Books.           Barnes & Noble          Kobo.      

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

For more info on the book, check out my website jemifraser.com or the MCBook tours page.

I hope some of the information you find here on the blog will help you along in your journey as we learn the steps to the Dementia dance together!