Mental Health Archives - Alivity Care Advocates

Help for This Common Dementia-Related Behavior: Rummaging

June 24, 2020

Searching through cardboard boxes, cabinets, and closets, pulling out assorted items from drawers, and searching repetitively through many different items could be frustrating for anyone providing care for a senior loved one with Alzheimer’s, but in reality, these dementia-related behaviors are fulfilling an objective. [Read More...]

Using Journaling in Alzheimer’s Caregiving for Better Results

April 16, 2020

Alzheimer’s caregiving is a fluid, continually-evolving journey. One day may be calm and peaceful, with your parent enjoying activities, eating healthy meals, and sharing laughter with you; while the following day might be filled with agitation, anxiety, and sullenness. What will today bring? [Read More...]

When Living with Dementia, Make Sure to Include a Daily Dose of Laughter

January 16, 2020

Looking after a person you love with dementia is certainly nothing to laugh about. Yet scientific studies are frequently pointing to the benefits associated with humor, and incorporating it into dementia care may be precisely what the doctor ordered to boost total well-being for your aging parent. [Read More...]

Loneliness is Bad for Your Health

March 15, 2018

Loneliness is bad for your health

senior isolation - elderly care rochester

Jed Magen, Michigan State University Imagine a 65-year-old woman who sees her physician frequently for a variety of aches and pains. She might complain of back pain on one visit, headaches another time, and feeling weak on the next. [Read More...]

The Basics of Hoarding and What You Can Do

June 15, 2017

For people who hoard they don’t think it is a big deal, they think they are holding on to the most valuable item in the world and others may view the items as worthless. Hoarders have difficulty parting with possessions which lead to a mass amount of clutter that can affect their living and even work spaces. [Read More...]

Why a lack of sleep makes us depressed …

January 19, 2017

Why a lack of sleep makes us depressed … and what we can do about it Alice M. Gregory, Goldsmiths, University of London Historically, insomnia has been thought of as secondary to other disorders such as depression. The idea was that you became depressed – and that your sleep got messed up as a consequence. [Read More...]

Happy All The Time – Why You Shouldn’t Be

December 12, 2016

Why you shouldn’t want to always be happy Frank T. McAndrew, Knox College In the 1990s, a psychologist named Martin Seligman led the positive psychology movement, which placed the study of human happiness squarely at the center of psychology research and theory. [Read More...]

Elderly Depression

November 29, 2016

Although it’s not normal, clinical depression in the elderly is common. How is this mental illness in the elderly different from that in younger adults? It impacts older people differently and often occurs with other medical illnesses and disabilities. Frequently, depression in the elderly is confused with the effects of multiple illnesses and the medicines used to treat them. [Read More...]

Beat the Holiday Blues

November 21, 2016

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, more people than you would think are becoming vulnerable to the Holiday Blues. Many people’s anticipation and excitement turn into depression for others with symptoms including headaches, insomnia, uneasiness, anxiety, sadness and unnecessary conflicts with friends and family. [Read More...]

Why Those Who Feel Younger Live Longer and Happiness is Healthy

November 2, 2016

< Lying about your age may be the very thing that helps you live a longer life. If you truly believe that you are younger than you really are, a new study shows that you are among a group of people with a lower death rate compared to those who felt their age or older. This new study includes data from over 6,400 people averaging slightly less than 66 years of age who reported that they felt a little less than 10 years younger. When researchers followed up on these people over the next 8 years, only a little over 14% of those who “felt younger” had passed away compared to 24% who reported feeling their actual age or older. Read more about age perception and life span HERE. Many scientific studies have found a connection between psychological and physical well-being. A review of more than 200 studies back in 2012 found a connection between positive psychological attributes (i.e. happiness, optimism and life satisfaction) and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. [Read More...]