Dementia Careblazers

If you've ever found yourself correcting, arguing with, or trying to reason with someone who has dementia, you're doing what comes naturally. But with dementia, those responses can sometimes make things harder for both of you. Back in 2017, I made a video about three things to never do with someone who has dementia, but I didn't do a very good job of telling you what to do instead. In this episode...

Most dementia caregivers already know the one thing that could make a difference. They've heard it over and over again. But knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. In this episode, I share a story from a recent talk where a caregiver told me she'd tried everything to get her husband to stop driving. What happened once we started talking it through is something I wan...

Helping someone with dementia stay engaged and independent can be challenging, especially when the activities you've tried don't seem to work. But sometimes, small changes in how we set up activities or organize the home can make a meaningful difference. In this episode, I'm joined by Ju Tu, founder of Aegeliss, who turned her family's dementia caregiving experience into thoughtfully designed prod...

When your loved one with dementia seems fine to everyone else, it can leave you feeling like no one believes what you're living with. A sibling says, "Dad seemed great today." A doctor says, "They're doing so well." And you're left wondering if they think you're exaggerating. In this episode, I'm sharing what I told a caregiver who came up to me after a talk with this exact frustration, and what h...

When someone with dementia insists they're still safe to drive, describes a visit that never happened, or swears someone is stealing from them, it can look a lot like lying. Or like they're refusing to see what's right in front of them. But a lie means knowing the truth and choosing to say something different, and that's not what's happening here. In this episode, I'm walking through three common...

Sometimes the strangest dementia behaviors have a pattern or explanation that isn't obvious at first. Maybe your loved one seems fine earlier in the day but becomes restless every evening. Maybe they follow you everywhere, hide or collect unusual things, believe they're living in a different time of their life, or suddenly seem perfectly fine when the doctor walks into the room. After the first st...

➡️ Learn more about Memory Board: https://www.memoryboard.com/DEMENTIA24702 When you visit through this link, look for the pop-up with a Careblazers promo code. Paid link: Dementia Careblazers may earn a referral fee from purchases made through this link and promo code. Helping someone with dementia keep track of what's happening throughout the day can mean a lot of reminders, phone calls, notes,...

There are a few phrases dementia caregivers say all the time that sound completely normal but can actually make dementia behaviors worse. Things like "I already told you," "Don't you remember?" or "You just asked me that" usually come from frustration or from genuinely trying to help. But dementia changes what the brain is able to remember, process, and explain. In this episode, I break down 4 com...

Some of the habits that make dementia behaviors worse come from loving, kind caregivers doing exactly what works with everyone else in their lives. Correcting a mistake, explaining why the medication matters, or asking "do you remember who this is?" can quietly lead to more agitation, resistance, and mistrust. In this episode, I'm walking through six of these everyday habits, why they backfire whe...

Some dementia behaviors can make absolutely no sense from the outside. It can look like your loved one is being lazy, stubborn, rude, in denial, or even lying to you. But there's often a brain-based reason for what you're seeing. In this episode, I break down 5 strange dementia behaviors, apathy, anosognosia, apraxia, disinhibition, and confabulation — and explain what may actually be happening in...

When someone with dementia knows they're struggling, they may start doing less and less. They might get frustrated, say things like "I can't do anything right," or stop doing things they used to enjoy. In this episode, I'm talking about why this can happen and, more importantly, how you can help. I'll share some simple ways to support their confidence and adapt activities as their abilities change...

Have you ever noticed your loved one with dementia is calm, nothing seems to be wrong, and then the moment you shift your attention to someone else they completely change? They get demanding, upset, anxious, or jealous that you are not there giving them attention. It can feel like they cannot stand not being the center of your attention, and understandably that leaves you feeling frustrated, resen...

Caring for someone with dementia can feel overwhelming, especially when you're not sure where to turn for help. In this episode, I'm sharing several places dementia caregivers can go for support, guidance, and resources, plus one important step families often wait too long to think about. You do not have to wait until there's a crisis to start getting help.  The Dementia Care Toolkit is officially...

If you have taken the car keys, stepped in on the checkbook, or said no to something your loved one with dementia badly wanted, you already know what comes next. They are hurt. They are angry. And they are angry at you. I want you to hear this first. Their unhappiness is not a report card on your caregiving. This is one of the hardest parts of dementia caregiving, because it does not just feel har...

If you've ever felt like every appointment, every follow-up, and every ounce of attention goes to your loved one with dementia while nobody ever asks how you're doing, you're not imagining it. Dementia care as a system was built around the person with the diagnosis, not the person keeping them alive day after day. And it's not just that you get overlooked. Most of what we call dementia care is rea...

You made the hardest decision of your life and moved your loved one with dementia into memory care. Then you waited for the relief you were promised. It never fully came. You still feel completely wiped out after visits, even good ones, and no one has explained why. Placement changes the physical work of caregiving, but it does not turn off your nervous system, your grief, or the recovery your bod...

You've probably seen the headlines about Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs and Alzheimer's disease. One week it sounds like a breakthrough. The next, not so much.   A large study found a much lower rate of Alzheimer's diagnoses in people taking these medications. Then a major clinical trial published this year found something very different.   Neither one is wrong. And understanding why matters, espec...

If you're a dementia caregiver who barely recognizes yourself anymore, I want you to hear this before anything else: you are not broken, and you have not become a different person. Years of pouring everything into someone else can quietly erase the parts of you that existed before caregiving ever started. This isn't a personality change. It's what sustained, nonstop caregiving does to a nervous sy...

Dementia caregiving asks you to carry things nobody prepares you for, and some of the hardest parts are never said out loud. This video isn't based on research. It's based on what I've learned from working with thousands of caregivers over the past 17 years as a geropsychologist. If caregiving still hurts even though you're doing everything right, if people question your decisions, if you can't st...

If your loved one with dementia has asked you the same question five, ten, or forty times in the last hour, you know the kind of patience it takes to keep answering. And you probably know the guilt that follows when you finally run out of it. What most caregivers don't realize is that something very specific is happening inside the brain to drive this. Understanding it changes both how you respond...

Shadowing in dementia is one of the most exhausting behaviors caregivers face, and almost no one warns you about it. You can't walk to the bathroom alone anymore. The moment you stand up, they stand up. You step into the kitchen for five minutes and there they are in the doorway, watching you. The private phone calls are gone, the personal space is gone, and then comes the guilt for even wanting a...

Before the memory problems, confusion, and obvious dementia symptoms, many families notice something else first: money problems. Missed bill payments, unusual purchases, giving money away, falling for scams, or struggling to manage finances can sometimes be among the earliest signs of dementia. Research now shows these financial changes may appear years before a dementia diagnosis is ever made. In...

If your loved one with Alzheimer's disease is on one of the new treatment drugs, or you have been weighing whether to try them, the headlines from this spring may have stopped you cold. A major review from one of the most respected research organizations in the world concluded these drugs show no meaningful benefit. Researchers immediately fired back. And you are in the middle of all of it, as a c...

Have you noticed your loved one with dementia seems like a completely different person every evening? The confusion, the agitation, the restlessness — and then the nights when they're up convinced it's morning — it's exhausting in a way that's hard to put into words. It is not something you caused or something you missed. New research published in December 2025 finally gives us a neurological expl...

Making caregiving decisions is hard in a way most people around you won't understand. The stakes are real. The information is incomplete. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you're already afraid of being wrong. If you've been circling a decision for weeks — or months — and still can't seem to make a move, your brain isn't broken. There are five specific thought patterns that make caregiving d...