Read our posts about Care

21May

Dementia Awareness Week 2015: Treasuring Memories

Wendy Varley

care, dementia, elderly, family, love, self

Soul

In our second post for Dementia Awareness Week 2015, Wendy Varley reflects on the importance of documenting and treasuring our unique memories.
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18May

Dementia Awareness Week 2015: How to Prevent Dementia

June Andrews

care, dementia, elderly, self, wellbeing

Mind

It's Dementia Awareness Week: to show our support, June Andrews, author of Dementia: The One Stop Guide, posts on how to best prevent the symptoms of dementia
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26Apr

How Being Closer to Death is Good for Us

Alice McGurran

care, death, family, mortality, society

Soul

Mortician Caitlin Doughty spoke to Claudia Hammond at the recent Barbican Open Salon event, in association with Canongate books. Here is what she has to say about constantly evolving death culture in our society.
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09Apr

Why My Mum's Dementia Affects Us All

Leanne Brookes

care, dementia, family

Mind

Young singer-songwriter and mental health blogger Leanne Brookes on the distress and difficulty of having a mother with early on-set Alzheimer's disease.
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21Oct

What To Do When A Friend Is Bereaved

Markie Robson-Scott

bereavement, care, counselling, family, friendship

Soul

Markie Robson Scott offers advice and support about the best way you can offer support to a bereaved friend. Show up, don't shut up.
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31Jul

Why We Shouldn't Fear Touch

Gill Tree

abuse, care, family, massage

Relationships

The media impress upon us the often horrifying results of inappropriate touch. As increasing numbers of celebrities have come under investigatation, media coverage has been innundated with examples of inappropriate touch.  The fact that Rolf Harris is now serving five years for using his celebrity status to control young women is a case in point.  Are we  fearful of touch?  We now struggle to decipher what is appropriate and what isn't.  At this years sports day, I was surprised to discover that primary school teachers are no longer allowed to put suntan lotion onto...
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21May

Old Faces, Younger Lives: How to See Beyond Dementia

Giovanna Forte

care, dementia, elderly, family

Relationships

Imagine yourself in hospital, aged and unable to articulate what you need and when. Think of the dejection, loneliness, and knowledge that your wellbeing lies in the hands of someone who sees you only as a blank and wrinkled canvas, who sees you only in the context of your dementia. I have, and I find it frightening. Dementia visits the elderly with a cloak of confusion and uncertainty, its prey usually unaware of its early presence, manifested by occasional illogical behaviour. A friend witnessed her 75 year-old mother trying to pay for groceries with cigarettes,...
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03Mar

"Head in a Car Crusher": Understanding Autism

Phoebe Caldwell

books, care, society

Mind

When I first started to work with people on the autistic spectrum, I was given a very bad piece of advice: because the brains of people with autism were damaged, one should not listen to what they had to say. The implication was that they had nothing useful to contribute. I repeat this now only because it highlights how completely our perspective on autism has been challenged and redirected by the autobiographical accounts of such courageous people as Temple Grandin, Donna Williams and many others, presenting us with the view from the inside. Starting as a...
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03Feb

Taking Care of Our Elderly

Wendy Varley

care, elderly, family, society

Relationships

More and more of us have an elderly relative in residential care. Currently more than 400,000 people in the UK live in care homes, a figure which is bound to rise further, given the ageing population (there are currently 3 million people aged over 80 in the UK, and that figure is predicted to almost double by 2030. Currently one-in-six of the UK population is aged over 65; by 2050 it will be one-in-four). NICE the (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has issued new guidance on improving the mental wellbeing of older people in residential care, via a...
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