Take Your Oxygen First: Protecting Your Health and Happiness While Caring for a Loved One with Memory Loss
Designed for those giving care to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory loss disorders, this informative and inspiring guide explores how to take care of oneself in order to meet the challenges of giving care to another. Heartfelt, candid accounts by television host Leeza Gibbons and the members of her family—who cared for Leeza’s mother, Jean, for more than a decade after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis—are combined with current medical, nutritional, psychological, and spiritual...
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Designed for those giving care to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory loss disorders, this informative and inspiring guide explores how to take care of oneself in order to meet the challenges of giving care to another. Heartfelt, candid accounts by television host Leeza Gibbons and the members of her family—who cared for Leeza’s mother, Jean, for more than a decade after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis—are combined with current medical, nutritional, psychological and spiritual information and advice for caregivers. A comprehensive resources section and photo scrapbook of Leeza and her family are also included. Publishers Weekly Overwhelmed family caregivers will find Gibbons's book immensely and immediately useful. Even though Gibbons's family had the financial resources to weather the nine years her mother, Jean, lived with Alzheimer's, the feelings of pain and helplessness were unavoidable. Gibbons and her father, siblings and children share what they learned in dealing with Jean's decline and eventual placement in the dementia unit of a nursing home. While memory loss is the focus of the book's first section, the rest offers excellent advice for family caregivers on how to take care of themselves both physically and emotionally, from exercises to keep one strong enough to aid the patient to dealing with guilt and denial around a loved one's memory loss. Photos. (May)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Foreword xviiIntroduction - My Family - And Yours xxiAbout Leeza's Place xxxiAcknowledgements xxxiiiPart I Knowledge Is Power1 Why "Take Your Oxygen First"? 52 Understanding Memory Loss Disorders 11The Brain 13How We Think 16How Memories are Made 16What is Degenerative Memory Loss? 17Vascular dementia 18Lewy Body disease 18Frontotemporal labar dementia 19Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease 20Alzheimer's disease 20Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease 21Is Alzheimer's disease Inherited? 22The Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease 23Early Stage Symptoms 25Middle Stage Symptoms 28Late Stage Symptoms 31Treatment for Alzheimer's disease 33Education - The Payoff 353 Finding Help 37Step 1 Get Close to Your Loved One 39Step 2 Connect With the Professionals 41Step 3 Learn the Facts and the Options 42Step 4 Plan Ahead 45Step 5 Stay Calm and Focused - No Matter What They Throw at You 45Step 6 Reach Out For Help from the Community 44Finding Help - The Payoff 48Part II Caring For the Caregiver's Body4 The Benefits of Exercise 53How Exercise Helps Us 54Getting Started 55What Kind of Exercise Should You Do? 58Exercise Classes 59Tai Chi 60Yoga 61Water Exercises 62Exercising With Your Loved One 63Avoiding Physical Injury While Caregiving 64Special Caregiver Needs: Strengthening the Back, Neck and Shoulder Muscles 65The Caregiver Exercise Circuit 66Back Strengthening Exercises 66Neck and Shoulder Exercises 67What Keeps You From Working Out 68Physical Fitness - The Payoff 685 Eating Well 71What is Nutrition? 72What is a Healthy Diet? 73A Word about Water 74Fruits andVegetables 75Whole Grains 76Dietary Oils 77What's the Skinny on Diets? 78What is the Truth About Vitamins? 78What is a Healthy Diet for Seniors? 80Update Your Food Pyramid 80Nutrition and Weight - The Payoff 816 Brain Fitness and Sleep 83How the Brain Ages 85Is It Normal Aging or a Memory Loss Disorder? 86Caregivers and the "Senior Moment Syndrome" 87Does Brain Exercise Work? 89Relax 90Get Moving 91Don't Retire From Life 91Socialize 92Brain Fitness - The Payoff 92Sleep is Good - When You Can Get It 94Insomnia 96What Causes Insomnia? 96Sleep and the Older Caregiver 98Discovering the Problem 100A Good Night's Sleep - The Payoff 101Part III Caring for the Caregiver's Mind7 Coping with Depression and Anxiety 105Depression 105Recognizing Depression 110Treating Depression 111Beyond-Depression: The Payoff 114Anxiety 115What is Anxiety? 116The Symptoms of Anxiety 117Treating Anxiety 118Medication 118Therapy 119Lifestyle Changes 119Stress Management Techniques 120Managing Anxiety - The Payoff 1228 Overcoming Denial and Guilt 123Denial 123Waking Up from Denial 126Banishing Denial: The Payoff 129Guilt 129Conquering Guilt 134Beyond Guilt - The Payoff 1359 Managing Anger 137Working Through the Anger 140Managing Anger - The Payoff 143Part IV Caring for the Caregiver's Spirit10 Nourishing Your Family's Spirit - And Your Own 147Intergenerational Programs: The Tools for Family Connection 151Scrapbooking 152Journaling 157Stamping 158Memory Television: A Video Starring You and Your Loved One 160Step 1 Scriptwriting 162Step 2 Set Design 162Step 3 Action! 162Connecting as a Family - The Payoff 16311 Caregiving as a Spiritual Practice 165Finding Meaning in Your Life 167Accepting the Pain 168Living the Why of Caregiving 173Finding Meaning in Caregiving - The Payoff 181Afterword: Goodbye to Jean 183Resources 186Appendix: Special Caregiver Situations 206About the Authors 219Index 221
\ Publishers WeeklyOverwhelmed family caregivers will find Gibbons's book immensely and immediately useful. Even though Gibbons's family had the financial resources to weather the nine years her mother, Jean, lived with Alzheimer's, the feelings of pain and helplessness were unavoidable. Gibbons and her father, siblings and children share what they learned in dealing with Jean's decline and eventual placement in the dementia unit of a nursing home. While memory loss is the focus of the book's first section, the rest offers excellent advice for family caregivers on how to take care of themselves both physically and emotionally, from exercises to keep one strong enough to aid the patient to dealing with guilt and denial around a loved one's memory loss. Photos. (May)\ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.\ \
