Dementia Careblazers

Being accused of stealing by the person you are giving everything to is one of the most quietly devastating things that happens in dementia caregiving. It does not just feel unfair. It strikes at your identity, your dignity, and the relationship you had before all of this. And because it can happen over and over, with no memory that it happened before, many caregivers absorb these accusations alon...

When your family doesn't believe the dementia diagnosis, it can feel like you are grieving two losses at once. Family denial is one of the most painful and isolating experiences a dementia caregiver can go through. In this episode, I'm going to explain why it happens and what you can actually do about it. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel  here ....

A new Alzheimer's blood test was just approved by the FDA and it changes everything about how families get answers. For years, confirming Alzheimer's disease meant expensive brain scans or invasive procedures most people couldn't access. Now a simple blood draw can detect Alzheimer's markers in the body... up to 3 to 4 years before symptoms even begin. In this episode I break down what the Alzheim...

If your loved one used to fix things, run the household, stay busy and now they just sit there, you're probably wondering what happened. Are they depressed? Have they given up? Do they even care anymore? They do. And what's happening is not what it looks like. In this episode, I'm breaking down why someone with dementia withdraws from daily life, why their brain learns to stop trying, and why noth...

Bathroom challenges are one of the most common, and least talked about, parts of dementia caregiving. You've tried asking. You've tried reminding. You've tried everything. And it still isn't working. This isn't defiance. It isn't stubbornness. What's happening in the brain is making the bathroom one of the hardest spaces for someone with dementia to navigate. The bathroom requires more brain syste...

The number one mistake dementia caregivers make is waiting.  Waiting until things get harder. Waiting for the right moment. Waiting until they feel like they really need support. And it makes complete sense why. When difficulty builds slowly, your brain adapts. What felt overwhelming six months ago becomes your new normal. And before long, you stop being able to accurately measure just how much yo...

Sudden decline in dementia is one of the scariest things a caregiver can witness. One day they were walking. One day they were talking. And then almost overnight, they weren't. Most caregivers in this moment think they missed something. Or that this is just the next stage. But sudden dramatic changes are not typically how dementia progresses. And knowing the difference between expected progression...

If your loved one with dementia has become mean, sharp, cruel, or just completely different toward you, I want you to hear this first: you are not imagining it. And you are not failing. This is one of the most painful parts of dementia caregiving because it doesn't just feel hard. It feels personal. In this episode I explain exactly what is happening in the brain that causes this, why it is not th...

If your loved one with dementia believes they are living decades in the past, you are not alone. They may ask for parents who passed away long ago, think they still have a job they retired from years ago, or believe their children are still young. In this episode, I explain why this happens in dementia, why correcting someone often makes things worse, and how you can respond in a way that reduces...

Dementia behaviors can feel confusing, frustrating, and exhausting, especially when the more you try to explain or reason, the worse it seems to get. In this episode, I'm sharing 5 underrated ways to handle dementia behaviors that actually work in real life. These are practical, psychology-based strategies you can try the next time your loved one with dementia becomes defensive, upset, anxious, or...

Why does responding to dementia behaviors still feel so hard? In this video, I explain the three reasons it feels exhausting and unpredictable even when you're doing everything "right." Sometimes what worked yesterday stops working today, not because you failed, but because the brain is changing. If you'd like more practical, real-world guidance, join my upcoming Dementia Behaviors Breakthrough Pr...

Should you let your loved one with dementia help… even when it makes everything harder? You're told to keep them engaged. Involved. Independent. Let them contribute so they can maintain their abilities and feel useful. But sometimes when you do, everything takes longer. It gets messier. You fall behind. You feel frustrated. And then the guilt sets in for even feeling that way. In this video, I tal...

Can something as simple as one egg a week really lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease? In this video, I break down two long-term U.S. research studies looking at eggs and brain health. One study from the Rush Memory and Aging Project found that older adults who ate about one egg per week had a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.  A second study found that higher egg intake...

Urinary tract infections are one of the most common reasons people with dementia end up in the emergency room. In this video, I talk with Dr. Krieger, an emergency room physician, about why UTIs often look different in dementia and why sudden changes should not automatically be blamed on dementia progression. Dr. Krieger is also the creator of Uraguard, a product designed to help reduce bacterial...

Why does dementia look so different from one family to the next? This is a question I hear from caregivers all the time. Two people can have the same diagnosis and be the same age, yet their symptoms and caregiving challenges can look completely different. In this video, I break down what the 2025 NIH dementia progress report helps explain about why dementia does not follow one clear or predictabl...

Are we actually making progress in dementia research, or does it just feel like nothing has changed?  In this video, I break down what the latest dementia research really shows based on the most recent data from the National Institutes of Health. We will talk about what is changing in detection, treatment, and prevention, and what this actually means for family caregivers making decisions right no...

In this video, I share what dementia caregivers need most...and it's probably not what you've been told. This insight comes from the longest study ever conducted on human health and wellbeing: the Harvard Study on Adult Development, which followed people for more than 85 years. What researchers found challenges common assumptions about success, strength, and resilience. I break down what the scien...

Many families look back and realize the early signs of dementia were there long before the diagnosis. In this video, I share real examples from caregivers who noticed subtle changes in hindsight, things that didn't seem like dementia at the time.  These early signs often go beyond memory loss and show up in daily routines, personality, decision-making, and behavior. If you're wondering whether wha...

Why can someone with dementia remember a delusion in vivid detail, yet forget what actually happened? In this video, I explain why dementia affects emotional memory differently from factual memory and why delusions can feel so real and unshakable. When you understand what's happening in the brain, it becomes easier to respond with comfort instead of argument.  If you've ever felt frustrated trying...

In this video, I explore whether facial changes could be an early sign of dementia. Over the past few years, researchers have uncovered intriguing evidence showing that the brain impacts the face, and that subtle changes in facial expression and movement may be linked to dementia. This does not mean dementia can be diagnosed by looking at someone's face. But it does help explain why caregivers som...

Is this dementia… or is it just their personality? In this video, I explain why dementia can intensify longstanding personality traits, including patterns often seen in narcissistic, borderline, or histrionic personalities. You'll learn the brain science behind what's happening, why it feels so emotionally confusing, and how to respond in ways that protect both you and your loved one.

Dementia can change far more than memory — it can change how a person sees the world, even when their eye exam looks "normal." In this video, I explain the most common vision changes in dementia, including tunnel vision, depth perception problems, color and contrast loss, and visual misrecognition. I also cover less common symptoms like motion blindness and visual hallucinations. You'll learn what...

Many caregivers feel overwhelmed, resentful, or alone long before they ever realize that what they're experiencing is normal in dementia caregiving. In today's video, Carolyn shares her deeply honest story of caring for her mom. a relationship marked by decades of tension, and how everything changed once she learned a new way to understand dementia and respond differently. If you've ever felt exha...

Have you ever asked your loved one with dementia a simple question… and then waited far longer than you expected for an answer? Those long pauses can feel confusing or even worrying, but they're actually telling us something important about what's happening inside the brain. In this video, I break down why people with dementia often take so long to respond, what's happening with processing speed a...