Author: Mike Belleville

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WHAT TO DO IN THESE STRESSFUL TIMES By – Susan Wehry, MD

A blog from the Dementia Action Alliance The current pandemic is stressful. And like all stress, it sets off a cascade of reactions in our body/mind. Like releasing cortisol which gets us ready to flee or fight. And while heightening our awareness, focusing our attention, having a burst of adrenalized energy may be ok in the short term it takes a toll in the long term. A person of any age with a heart condition or diabetes or respiratory problem is […]

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A WELLNESS ALERT by Terrie Montgomery living with Early Onset Alzheimer’s

Good Afternoon Beautiful Souls, What a beautiful day it is AND more importantly, it feels pretty good to still be alive.   Do you agree?   I thought I would do something different today: This is a WELLNESS alert to remind wonderful YOU to take a few seconds to Relax.  Slow Down for a moment.  Our days can become pretty brutal at times and causes us to feel absolutely drained. We don’t have time for that. BUT whatever we started […]

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“CREATING MOMENTS OF JOY WITH MUSIC. HERE’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.” by Mary Sue Wilkinson, Singing Heart to Heart

CREATING MOMENTS OF JOY WITH MUSIC. HERE’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. Has anyone ever told you to “live in the moment?” Or “Be present.” Living in the moment takes on a whole new meaning for someone who is living with dementia. Here’s how Jolene Brackey describes it in her best selling book Creating Moments of Joy – A Journal for Caregivers. “When a person has short term memory loss, his life is made up of moments. We are not able to create […]

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Changing ‘the tragedy narrative’: Why a growing camp is promoting a more joyful approach to Alzheimer’s by Tara Bahrampour.

With Appreciation to The Washington Post for allowing us to post it. Tom and Peggy Misciagna were sitting in their Manassas, Va., home recently, talking about the children they adopted overseas in the 1980s, when Tom, 64, misremembered a major detail. “We got two kids out of India — ” he said. Peggy, 59, chimed in. “Philippines.” “Oh yeah, Philippines,” said Tom, a retired CIA officer. He grinned wryly at his wife. “That’s Ollie talking.” Please click the following link […]

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ECT for Dementia by Dr. G. Allen Power

ECT for Dementia? The Dangers of the BPSD Mindset [ECT – electroconvulsive therapy; BPSD – behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia] by: G. Allen Power, MD     It is hard to believe that my first blog post on this subject was 8 years ago, colorfully titled ECT for AD and LBD? WTF…(https://changingaging.org/blogstream/ect-for-ad-and-dlb-wtf/). In that post, I criticized researchers for giving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to people living with dementia who were exhibiting “severe agitation or aggression.” This topic has jumped […]

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Why do we call it Alzheimer’s disease and not Alzheimer’s Dementia? by Michael R Belleville DAA Board of Directors

Why do we call it Alzheimer’s Disease and not Alzheimer’s Dementia? From what I see and read and have researched, Alzheimer’s is the only form of dementia that is called a disease other than Parkinson’s. Does calling it a disease make it stand out from other forms of dementia? I think it does. When someone hears you have Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s Disease you are automatically associated as having a terminal illness. But tell someone you have Lewy Body Dementia […]

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