Healing Your Grieving Heart When Someone You Care About Has Alzheimer's

100 Practical Ideas for Families, Friends, and Caregivers

Alan D Wolfelt, Kirby J. Duvall, Alan Wolfelt

• Publisher: Companion Press
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9781617221811
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Diseases & Allergies

Navigating the challenging journey that families and friends of Alzheimer's patients must endure, this heartfelt guide reveals how their struggle is as complex and drawn out as the illness itself. Confronting their natural but difficult process of grieving and mourning, the study covers the inevitable feelings of shock, sadness, anger, guilt, and relief, illustrating the initial reactions people commonly feel from the moment of the dementia's onset. Healthy and productive ways to acknowledge and express these feelings are suggested along with 100 tips and activities that fulfill the emotional, spiritual, cognitive, physical, and social needs of those who care about someone afflicted with this debilitating disease. Special consideration is also shown for caregivers, whose grief is often complicated by the demanding physical attention that patients require.

Table of contents

• Also by Alan Wolfelt and Kirby Duvall:
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• INTRODUCTION
• ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR NEW REALITY
• 1. - GENTLY EMBRACE THE REALITY THAT YOUR LOVED ONE HAS DEMENTIA OR ALZHEIMER’S
• 2. - RECOGNIZE THE DIAGNOSIS AS A LOSS
• 3. - UNDERSTAND GRIEF AS A PART OF LOSS
• 4. - KNOW THE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF GRIEF
• 5. - RECOGNIZE FEELINGS OF SHOCK, NUMBNESS, AND DISBELIEF
• 6. - BE IN TOUCH WITH YOUR BODY
• 7. - BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF AS YOU EXPERIENCE THE REPEATED LOSSES OF ALZHEIMER’S
• 8. - RECOGNIZE THE UNCERTAINTY IN YOUR LOSSES
• 9. - RESPOND TO FEELINGS OF HELPLESSNESS
• 10. - ASK FOR HELP
• 11. - WATCH OUT FOR DEPRESSION
• 12. - BE AWARE OF APATHY AND NUMBNESS
• 13. - BE KIND TO YOURSELF
• 14. - KEEP IT SIMPLE
• 15. - UNDERSTAND THAT THE PERSON WITH DEMENTIA ISN’T “CRAZY”
• 16. - RECOGNIZE YOU’RE NOT CRAZY, EITHER
• 17. - HELP DISPEL OTHER MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ALZHEIMER’S
• 18. - TURN THE PAGE ON YOUR CALENDAR
• 19. - EMBRACE YOUR UNIQUE STORY
• 20. - GET YOUR GRIEF OUT
• 21. - RECOGNIZE THAT YOUR FEELINGS ARE IMPORTANT
• 22. - NAME YOUR FEELINGS
• 23. - LEAN INTO YOUR GRIEF
• 24. - BREAK DOWN ISOLATION
• 25. - ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MOURNING CAN BE COMPLICATED IN ALZHEIMER’S
• 26. - FEEL YOUR PAIN, BUT IN DOSES
• 27. - GET ENOUGH SLEEP
• 28. - QUIET YOUR MIND
• 29. - CREATE ROOM FOR HOPE
• 30. - LET YOUR TEARS FLOW
• 31. - EXPRESS ANGER IN HEALTHY WAYS
• 32. - MAKE PEACE WITH GUILT
• 33. - CONFRONT YOUR FEARS
• 34. - DEVELOP A NEW SELF-IDENTITY
• 35. - MAKE FRIENDS WITH FEELINGS OF RELIEF
• 36. - FIND PEOPLE WHO GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT
• 37. - ASK WHY
• 38. - REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES
• 39. - KEEP A JOURNAL
• 40. - LET WATER REFRESH YOUR SOUL
• 41. - BE ARTFUL IN GRIEF
• 42. - MAKE USE OF RITUAL
• 43. - SEEK THE SPIRITUAL
• 44. - CREATE A SANCTUARY
• 45. - RETREAT TO STILLNESS
• 46. - EMBRACE THE LIGHT OF NATURE
• 47. - MOURN AT YOUR CROSSROADS
• 48. - JOIN YOUR LOVED ONE
• 49. - MEET HER WHERE SHE IS
• 50. - TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ALZHEIMER’S MIGHT FEEL LIKE
• 51. - GET INTO THE WORLD OF THE SENSES
• 52. - RELY ON BODY LANGUAGE
• 53. - FIND A GOOD PLACE TO TALK
• 54. - VALIDATE FEELINGS
• 55. - FIND WAYS TO EMPOWER
• 56. - STAY CLOSE
• 57. - UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER’S DO WHAT THEY DO
• 58. - UNDERSTAND BEING LOST IN TIME
• 59. - CREATE A PEACEFUL ENVIRONMENT
• 60. - KEEP A ONE-DAY-AT-A-TIME CALENDAR
• 61. - PRACTICE PATIENCE—WITH YOUR LOVED ONE AND YOURSELF
• 62. - DEAR FAMILY, GET IT TOGETHER
• 63. - IF YOU ARE A CAREGIVER, GO WITH THE FLOW
• 64. - FOCUS ON WHAT REMAINS
• 65. - LOOK FOR SPARKS OF THE TRUE PERSON WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING THE LOSS
• 66. - LEARN TO PLAY AGAIN
• 67. - GET RESPITE
• 68. - RECORD MEMORIES, WHILE YOU STILL CAN
• 69. - PREPARE FOR THE SEVERE STAGE
• 70. - RECOGNIZE THAT RESPECT AND LOVE ENDURE
• 71. - KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR
• 72. - HEAD TOWARDS A NEW NORMAL
• 73. - PRACTICE A TRANSFORMATIONAL COPING STYLE
• 74. - ADVOCATE
• 75. - FINISH SOMETHING, AS A GIFT
• 76. - TAKE A RISK
• 77. - DISCOVER YOUR CALLING
• 78. - LEARN TO MEDITATE
• 79. - SPEND TIME WITH A PET
• 80. - KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED
• 81. - ALLOW GOD TO SPEAK TO YOU
• 82. - BEAUTIFY YOUR ENVIRONMENT
• 83. - LIVE WITH PURPOSE
• 84. - BEFRIEND EIGHT UNIVERSAL HEALING PRINCIPLES
• 85. - REDEFINE SUCCESS
• 86. - DO WHAT YOU LOVE
• 87. - PAY ATTENTION TO SYNCHRONICITIES
• 88. - SHOW YOUR TRUE GRIT
• 89. - RE-EXAMINE YOUR PRIORITIES
• 90. - EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
• 91. - ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR CLOUD OF WITNESSES
• 92. - REACH OUT AND TOUCH
• 93. - LOOK FOR THE SURPRISES AND GIFTS IN YOUR DAY
• 94. - ADD MEANING TO YOUR DAYS
• 95. - KEEP HOPE IN YOUR HEART
• 96. - RECOGNIZE THE DUAL ASPECT OF CHANGE
• 97. - FORGIVE
• 98. - IMAGINE THE PERSON WITH ALZHEIMER’S IN HEAVEN
• 99. - LIVE WITH GRATITUDE AND COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
• 100. - REMEMBER THAT LOVE LIVES ON
• A FINAL WORD
• SEND US YOUR IDEAS FOR HEALING GRIEF CAUSED BY ALZHEIMER’S
• ALSO BY DR. ALAN WOLFELT AND DR. KIRBY DUVALL