Category: hospice

alzheimer's, dementia, frontotemporal dementia, hospice

Impulse Control (Or Lack Thereof) in Dementialand

When I do presentations and explain how dementia can impact impulse control, I ask groups, “How many of you have ever felt like hitting someone, kicking someone, or verbally berating someone…but didn’t?” It’s funny. I’ve asked this question to quite a few groups: nursing home administrators, nurses, nursing assistants, social workers, family caregivers, nuns, cops, city bus drivers, college students, and legislators—to name a few. … Continue reading Impulse Control (Or Lack Thereof) in Dementialand

Elaine M. Eshbaugh, PhD7 Comments
alzheimer's, caregiver, caregiving, dementia, dementialand, hospice, pwd

Knowing Better and Doing Better in Dementialand

I am driving a couple hours to southern Iowa to present at a community center. It’s a drive full of soybean fields, cornfields, and an occasional Casey’s Convenience Store. I’m listening to a Spotify playlist including (embarrassingly) artists such as Flo Rida, Salt-N-Pepa, Tracy Chapman, the Jayhawks, and the Jackson 5. There may or may not be one, and only one, Justin Bieber song. I’m not … Continue reading Knowing Better and Doing Better in Dementialand

Elaine M. Eshbaugh, PhD5 Comments
aging, alzheimer's, caregiver, caregiving, death, dementia, dying, families, hospice, lewy body dementia, pwd

Habits of Sane Caregivers in Dementialand

Sometimes I write for people with dementia. Sometimes I write for people who have no experience in Dementialand. But today…today I am writing for dementia caregivers. And, really, for all caregivers. If you are a caregiver, things can get pretty rough. I can show you research studies on the rates of clinical depression among caregivers. Spoiler alert–they’re astronomical. (They’re high among caregivers and higher among … Continue reading Habits of Sane Caregivers in Dementialand

Elaine M. Eshbaugh, PhD11 Comments
aging, alzheimer's, death, dementia, dying, hospice

Dying in Dementialand

I pulled up at a nursing home in an impoverished part of Kansas City. It was 2006–before GPS was commonplace. I had printed out Mapquest directions to find this place. It didn’t help that it was raining, almost 11 pm, and that the nursing home was tucked behind an authentic hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant and one of those Payday Loans joints, but I found it. I was … Continue reading Dying in Dementialand

Elaine M. Eshbaugh, PhD2 Comments