Accepting Your Loved Ones’ Dementia and Joining Their New Reality

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and I’m starting a new topic today, with stories from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Navigating Eldercare & Dementia. This new collection really supports family caregivers, and we need lots of support, because it’s tough becoming the caregiver for an impaired spouse or parent. These stories will make you feel less alone and more empowered in your new role. I think one of most important things you can do if your family member has dementia is to learn to let go of your reality. You have to accept that your loved one has a new reality. There’s no point trying to correct an incorrect memory—you just go with it. Because what difference does it make anyway? Your role is to keep the conversation going, even if it’s not based on the true facts or history as you know them. And your role also is to live in the moment, learning how to sit back and enjoy the little things, which might just mean that you and your loved one spend half an hour discussing a tree that you’re looking at.

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