Elder Care Cafe

Most people at one time or another have experienced the feeling of loneliness. Being alone can be a positive or negative experience for a person depending on whether they are alone by choice. Loneliness, however, can occur when someone experiences strong feelings of emptiness, even when one is in the midst of a crowd.

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A recent article on WebMD reveals there is finally good news for those who are overweight. They have a tendency to outlive those who are underweight, normal weight, or obese. Based on the body mass index (BMI) scores, compared to people who are normal weight, underweight people were 73% more likely to die. Extremely obese [...]

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Yard sale! Garage Sale! Whatever name you want to call them, they are not going away anytime soon. My mother was never a fan of garage sales, although she would sometimes go with my aunt. Then in later years, she and my dad had several sales in their back yard as they attempted to rid [...]

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After years of cooking my own meals, I moved in with Dad so that he could stay in his home. Cooking meals for two was a new experience for me after being on my own for so long. Not only did I now need to consider quantity, but also because my dad is an insulin-depended [...]

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As we age, it becomes all the more important to take a look at our lifestyle. Are we living the best we can to maximize the time we have left on earth? Living a healthy lifestyle will go a long way in ensuring we stay active and vibrant as long as possible. After all, most [...]

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It’s that time of year once again. Summer is upon us, and judging by the mid to upper 80′s that we are experiencing at my house, it’s time to take a look at what we can do to help our elders through this mini-crisis. It is a crisis for many seniors because of the risk [...]

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Recent research findings published in the June 19, 2009 issue of Neurology indicate people who are depressed have a greater likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s than those who are not depressed. The research involved 756 people between 55 and 91-years-old who had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), that is, where memory problems are worse than normal aging, but [...]

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Zina Kramer’s mother had Alzheimer’s and her mother-in-law, dementia. She saw first hand how children and grandchildren were affected when their grandparent no longer acted the same. That’s why Zina decided to write Hugging Grandma: Loving Those With Memory Disorders; with the hope the book would help children understand the changes they saw, and be able [...]

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Following my weekly grocery shopping yesterday, I realized how much money I was saving by limiting my visits to once a week. A year ago we were in the habit of stopping at the store every time we drove through our small town.

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Recently I reviewed a powerful and innovative book called Conquering Depression In The Golden Years by Valentin Bragin, M.D., Ph.D. Today I am going to provide a list of rules he offers in his book on how to overcome depression. Dr. Bragin is the founder and director of the Stress Relief and Memory Training Center [...]

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All of us at some time in our lives feel sad or down for any number of reasons. We are sad when a close friend or loved one dies, we fail to receive a longed for promotion, or we are ill for a couple of days. We may understand the emotional symptoms we are experiencing, but we may [...]

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Blue moods and occasional sadness can hit anyone at any age.  Everyone feels down from time to time. However, a large number of seniors often face geriatric depression due to increased loss in their lives. Geriatric depression can occur due to the loss of a spouse, loss of a growing number of long time family members and [...]

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According to the Congressional Budget Office, elderly Americans on Social Security will not receive their yearly cost-of-living increase in 2010. For the past 35 years, annual increases have helped aging Americans stay abreast of rising costs. Social Security was created in the mid-1930′s because of the extreme conditions of poverty senior citizens faced during the [...]

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Protecting seniors in their home is one of the priorities of the  Call to Action announced Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H.  Called “The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes”, the list contains items that are of interest to senior citizens. The Call to Action was [...]

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Earning blogging money is a lot easier than you might think. The most important thing to realize is that you need a good solid plan of action if you are ever going to have any hope of earning an income from your blogs. After I retired and became a caregiver to my father, I knew [...]

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