Latest posts
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The Gentle Art of Dementia Response
I watched an Instagram reel yesterday about a person with dementia who was sundowning. In case you are new here, or to the world of dementia care, sundowning is a name for symptoms such as heightened confusion, anxiety, and agitation that often occurs late in the afternoon or early evening. Their inner sense of safety…
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Repeated Questions in Dementia: Why Answering Isn’t Helping
A woman on a caregiving forum recently admitted she resorted to pulling out her own birth certificate and old photo albums, desperately trying to “prove” her identity to her father. His dementia was worsening, and she was fighting with everything she had to drag him back to reality. It’s a heartbreaking scene, and if you’ve…
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Calmer Dementia Conversations: A 5-Second Mindset Shift
You’re walking down the hallway toward their room. And before you’ve even turned the corner, some part of you has already braced. Maybe your shoulders have crept up toward your ears. Maybe you’ve taken a deep breath without realizing it’s a bracing breath, not a calming one. Maybe it’s the quiet script already running in…
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Why You Can’t Reason With Someone With Dementia (and What Works)
We think if we repeat the answer to their question, say it slower, louder, with more detail, or just differently, they’ll be satisfied. But to a brain experiencing dementia, our logic doesn’t feel like help. It feels like an assault on their safety. Mom asked me that already today. I wonder if she forgot. I’ll…
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How to Respond to Dementia Behaviors Without Correcting
Why We Feel Stuck: The Biology of the Battle How many times today have you tried to explain the truth to a person living with dementia, only to end up more frustrated, more exhausted, and further from a connection? If you feel like you’re constantly running on a broken engine, it’s not because you aren’t…