Highlighting the I in difference
Peace on Earth By: Sherri Lupton Hollister 2011 Silver tinsel shining bright Carolers singing Silent Night Bells clanging, pealing ring Peace on Earth the Angels sing Chaos, confusion , heartaches abound There is no Peace on Earth to be found I pray for a calm, quiet place God whispers, “Child I give you grace.” Wadded […]
The festive season is upon us! Christmas is one of the busiest and greatest days for most during the year but is a day that no one forgets. This blog is going to talk about Alzheimer’s during the Christmas Season!
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Today’s blog is the 11th blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about Alzheimer’s at Christmas time(can be linked to other holidays as well). We are going to be looking at how Alzheimer’s can affect you as a family. The blog will look at the positive sides as changing the way that we think about certain things, from a negative view to a positive one, can make a very large difference on your view of life!
It may seem quite difficult to think about Alzheimer’s in a positive way around Christmas time but it is something that I would like to take a closer look at. Christmas for me, as it is for many, is all about family and the time in which you spend together. I was speaking to a friend of mine in University last week actually about Christmas with Alzheimer’s, as his grandmother has it as well, and he didn’t seem as excited about Christmas as I had expected.
Whilst talking to him he said, “Christmas will never be the same in my house as my grandmother doesn’t remember my name as much anymore”. I didn’t really know what to reply to that but after a minute I knew what I was going to say. I decided to try and turn his view from a sadder, more negative one into a happier, more positive one. I haven’t really tried to do this when dealing with issues like Alzheimer’s before but soon found out it was very similar to tackling other issues and problems.
The first thing that I asked him was, “Will your grandmother be with you at Christmas”. He replied with yes in a way but her memories are fading. I knew after this response that the way he was looking at it could be changed. One of the things that I talk a lot about when it comes to Alzheimer’s is that you have to try and make a new and better memory to replace each memory that gets stolen by Alzheimer’s. It is a phrase that I like to think helps and is one that I talk through a lot on my Alzheimer’s Awareness page, Don’t Forget Me, http://www.dontforgetme.org.uk.
The way that I handled my friend’s issue was indeed by convincing him that instead of seeing Christmas as a sad time, try to make it better. Talk to your grandmother about the good times you had, share stories and experiences, have a good time and try to cherish it. I said how it is easy to always think about things in a negative light, I often do, but if you just try and see the other side, it doesn’t look as bad as you first thought. After I told him this I gave him a few minutes to think about it and then he seemed a lot more relaxed. A small little conversation see, can make the world of difference.
That is the point that I want to bring home. Alzheimer’s will try to steal all of your memories, why not make new and better memories to replace the ones that are lost? Just because the person suffering from Alzheimer’s doesn’t remember something, doesn’t mean you can’t remind them. Talk about the memory as a story, explain what happened, try and help them understand, it might make you feel a lot better.
As always too patience is key when it comes to Alzheimer’s. I fully understand that Christmas can be very stressful but try extra careful not to lose your cool if the person suffering from the terrible illness can’t remember something, they are trying their best after all!
That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! It’s nice to be back writing a little bit more, haven’t written a blog in over a week now! What do you all think? Are you looking forward to Christmas? The blog today can be applied to every other holiday, I just felt like it was a relevant time to relate it to Christmas!
Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day! See you in the next blog!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
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James
🌼🌼🌼HAPPY THANKSGIVING🌼🌼🌼 Can you believe it? It’s that time of the year again when we come together to give thanks and celebrate. I just want to use this opportunity to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving, I also want to welcome my new followers, thank you so much for the follow. I have put together some […]
via 20 motivational quotes to push you forward — She’s inspired
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
I am very happy to announce that this week we surpassed the 5,000 view mark! This is a huge step forward for the page and it is all thanks to all of you lot, our readers! We are growing so much faster than I originally thought the page would and it is amazing to see!
As the page has been doing so well lately I feel like now is a good time to ask, what sort of content would you like to see more of? Would you like to see more poems on the page? Maybe longer posts or smaller posts that really tackle important issues? Would you like blogs on a certain topic/topics? Let me know what you want to see and I’ll do my best to do it for you!
There are quite a few exciting things happening with the page going into the new year but I’ll wait until it is closer to the time to give any more details on that. Guest blogs are definitely something that I want to see more of going into the future of the page! if you have any ideas for a blog or know someone who might be interested in writing please let me know!
I will be trying to update the Spotify Playlist over the next few days too! if you haven’t seen the playlist yet you can view it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0o8E5x2GB0yqct6FlVIhOj?si=n52SSSG7SaSwSWSuhum4SQ.
Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day! Let me know what you think of the page and what you want to see in the future!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
I went to the library a few days ago and came across a book by Kelly McGonigal, The Upside of Stress. The book was set on recommendations shelf and was literally screaming at me “Take me, take me!”. I’m kidding, but it was a pleasant coincidence. It’s ironic, because this is something I had on […]
For a lot of us our work schedules at home and at our jobs have been a major source of complications in our lives. Our financial well being depends on our paycheck, and our mental and emotional well-being depends in part on having a well-organized life. But a few simple changes in your life can…
via How To Stay Motivated Until You Succeed — Self Development dot ga
When the thing you love to do becomes the thing you have to do, everything changes.
Accepting Alzheimer’s is a concept that a lot of people take a while to understand. I understand first hand how hard it is to accept that someone you love has the condition but if we don’t accept it then it’s going to negatively impact not only us but the actual person with Alzheimer’s down the line. Today’s blog will be looking at Alzheimer’s Acceptance in regards to reducing your chance of getting the condition!
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Today’s blog is going to be the 10th blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is all about how Accepting Alzheimer’s can help reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer’s in the future. The topic of Alzheimer’s Acceptance is one that I have covered on the page previously but I feel like it is important to recognise for this series. If you would like to see more on Alzheimer’s Acceptance in a deeper version though I highly recommend checking out my Alzheimer’s Acceptance series in the Blogapedia!: https://sweeneysblog.com/blogapedia/
Acceptance is a term that although the majority of people know the definition of, not many seem to think of the implications that it can have in life. Accepting Alzheimer’s, despite how hard it can be, can have huge implications in relation to slowing the speed of deterioration. The following video shows us some tips as to how to accept that someone is suffering from Alzheimer’s:
The concept of lying to someone who has Alzheimer’s is always a topic that is discussed heavily. It is only natural to not want to lie to a loved one but sometimes you just have to do it. It is the only way to calm them down and make them relax. Relaxation, although it may seem like it, can help reduce the rate in which conditions such as Alzheimer’s do deteriorate which can be a great thing to consider down the line.
Even if it doesn’t seem like it creating a happy, welcoming environment in which no one feels stressed or threatened can go a long way in reducing someone’s chance of getting Alzheimer’s! This blog is meant to be a short one but if you do want to see more about Alzheimer’s Acceptance please check out the series in the Blogapedia!
That’s all for today’s blog! Thank you all for reading! When I started writing today’s blog I felt like a shorter blog would be much better than a longer one. It helped focus the message of the blog whilst also being easy to write and edit.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good day,
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
The art of conversation is a skill shared by most successful people. Good conversation promotes an image of self-confidence, intelligence, and wittiness. People who always seem to rise to the top of their professions and are well respected by others who share the ability to converse with anybody in every situation. People who seem to…
via How To Master The Art of Conversation — Self Development
What do you want to do when you graduate? Your options are endless… One thing for sure is that careers are not what they used to be and you don’t have to go into a 9 to 5 job to be successful. We’ve caught up with John Frazer, a Henley Business School graduate, about what it’s like to start your own YouTube channel!
via Do you want to be a millionaire before you are 30? — Henley Careers Blog
Have you ever wanted to learn a new language? Have you ever thought of what knowing more than one language can do to you? Research shows that learning more than one language can help reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer’s! What a motivating factor! We’ll take a deeper look into it in today’s blog!
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Today’s blog is going to be the 9th blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about how learning a new language can help reduce your chance of getting illnesses such as Alzheimer’s/Dementia. As I say for every other blog in this series, the solutions and methods that I share are not guaranteed to work and you know what they say, it doesn’t hurt to try!
Let’s watch a short video first to gain a basic understanding of how knowing more than one language can affect Alzheimer’s:
I found the video to be really insightful and I would just like to go through a few of the notes that I made whilst it was playing.
The first point that I noted down was that people who spend the majority of their lives can postpone symptoms of Alzheimer’s for around 4-5 years! 4-5 years, isn’t that incredible! Let’s put this into context. Say you were going to get Alzheimer’s and there was no way around it. Wouldn’t it be so much better to get Alzheimer’s at 84/85 years of age compared to 80 years of age? I fully understand in an ideal world you wouldn’t have it all, but 4-5 years difference is enormous!
The second point that I took down was that bilingual minds tend to be more connected and usually respond better to conditions such as Alzheimer’s compared to a monolingual brain. This is due to the fact that a bilingual brain is more connected and has a more robust set of mental activities and components. Wouldn’t you agree that having an extra layer of defence against a condition as cruel as Alzheimer’s is a great thing? Personally, I think it is great as you do not even have to be fluent at using the language, just having a basic understanding helps!
One of the last points that I want to pick up on from the video is about a survey that was completed in Luxembourg. The video tells us that a study taken in Luxembourg found that people who knew three languages were even better off in regards to being less likely to have Alzheimer’s compared to bilingual people. It is like I say in a lot of these videos, it is all down to the mental stimulation your brain gets.
Mental Stimulation is one of the biggest variables when it comes to Alzheimer’s, arguably the biggest. The question that I always think is why wouldn’t you do things like puzzle games or in this case learn a language if you knew that it could reduce your chances of getting Alzheimer’s/Dementia? It’s a question that I always ask and the people who respond don’t really know what to say.
One of the things that I like about this method of reducing your chances of getting Alzheimer’s is that you do not even have to be fluent in the language that you choose to learn. Even if you only know the basics, you will still be a lot better off. The question people always ask is how do I learn a language? The response I give, use the internet!
The internet is the worlds biggest resource of information and is a database of different information. Depending on how you learn: you can watch videos on YouTube, take tests and courses on DuoLingo or even just follow a tutorial on a random website. There are a million different ways to do it, why not try one of them?
Let me do a quick example. Let’s say I wanted to learn how to start speaking Welsh and I liked learning through YouTube videos. the first thing I would do is type in Welsh for beginners into the YouTube search bar. When I press enter a whole barrage of different videos come up on my screen. It is now up to you to pick one to use.
I have chosen one that it is fairly informal and I feel like I can watch it and stay calm. The creator is also learning with us and that just makes the content more relatable in my opinion.
Although the content that Will covers each video is pretty basic, you will start to see a gradual progression in the use of the language. I quite like going back to his videos every now and again as I feel like it is good to refresh the fundamentals of languages you learn. The best thing about using YouTube videos too is that you can pause them and even go back and watch part of it again! That is only a quick exaple into how to start learning a language but I feel like itshows how easy it can be!
That’s all I wanted to talk about in today’s blog! I feel like the two-week break we have had in this series, caused by changes to the Blogapedia last week, have made the world of difference! I have more of an idea about how I want to style the blogs going forward and I think I can do them better than I could before. What do you think of today’s blog? Do you prefer it when I use photos and videos or not? Do you know more than one language? If so which ones do you know? Can you think of any other ways to reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s?
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Today’s blog is a guest blog written by one of our readers, Rebecca Sutcliffe-Major! The blog is about how being a mother can be a very hard job and to never give up. You may make mistakes from time to time but it is all a learning process. Remember the job you are doing, the value it brings to the world and try not to beat yourself up if things seem to go wrong. Hope you enjoy the blog!
One thing that all mums have in common and most don’t even know it. We all at some point are adamant we are ‘mumming’ wrong. I worked full time in management to help support my family while trying to further my education to better our future. The response I got from others “don’t you miss your kids?”, “shouldn’t you be spending more time with your family?”. Then when I gave up working so I could concentrate on my children and my education I had comments such as “don’t you think you should work to help out your husband?”, “Are you setting the right example for your kids by not working?”. All the while inside my head I’m screaming “ARE YOU SERIOUS!”.
On the outside, I look like I have it all together, on the inside I am full of self-doubt and anxiety. When I worked, I was in smart clothes, makeup done, hair done, nails done but I worried about my kids missing me. Now I’m out of work, I look neglected and I’m worrying that I am not occupying the kids time in the right way like they had a nursery. There is no end!
I was adamant that once I finished work, I would have an amazing routine and do crafts with them, make home-cooked meals and basically be an amazing mum. Oh boy, was I wrong!!
After the first week at home, I was so very tired. ‘Mumming’ full time is hard work. Running after a 1 year old and school runs really take it out of you. Even the little things were hard.
Something as simple as putting down the baby for a nap, then I can shower or clean or do the washing. NO! Baby decided that napping was beneath her and spend 30 minutes singing and shouting before I gave up and brought her back downstairs. But it’s ok… I spent that 30 minutes cleaning the living room, I was productive!
The baby was then in the living room eating a banana while watching tv, coolies… I’ll clean the kitchen. NO! Baby decided that playing on her own while watching tv was not acceptable. I walked into my living room and it was trashed. The one-year-old hooligan had thrown toys, cushions, banana peel everywhere. Clearly, she’s not to be left alone.
Next thought…. Why don’t you help mummy!!! NO! She proceeded to pull things out of the washer before I could fill it and set it going. Then she got distracted …. I managed to put the washer on, turned around…… oh hell, the baby is playing with the cat bowls ….. biscuits and water all over my kitchen.
Bath time …. Ended with both me and my bathroom soaked. We were now late for the school run. I turn up at school soaked and looking like id been dragged through a hedge backwards. Get the kids home my eldest says “mummy why is it so messy?” REALLY KID!!
I managed to get them to play nicely together while I tried to tidy around them, then moved into the kitchen to sort out the washing (which as it turned out I set off gong without putting in any washing powder or fabric softener). Back to the living room……trashed. My husband comes home ….. “what happened here?” I’m stood there, baby in one arm and wet unwashed washing in the other, surrounded by toys. It actually looked like I had done nothing all day.
I felt like such a failure. I can run a business, manage staff, deal with customers, do the rotas, create strategic plans. But I couldn’t keep my cool with the kids, I couldn’t keep my house in check, I couldn’t have tea ready for when my husband got home. I was in jeans and a hoodie all day, no make-up, hair a mess. I looked nothing like I was used to. All these goals that I was adamant I could do, turns out I couldn’t. I thought when I gave up work I would have less stress which would lower my anxiety and make me a happier person to be around. This went on for weeks. I made myself feel worse with all the bad thoughts. My depression spiralled downwards; I could feel myself loosing. I went back to the doctors thinking I was getting too bad and I cried a lot.
Then it occurred to me, who cares. My children are happy, fed and well looked after. Who cares if my house is a mess, who cares if I am a mess, who cares if my husband has the opinion that I am slowly going insane after watch re-runs of Pepper Pig all day! The only person who actually cared about it was me. My husband and my kids want me healthy and happy, that’s it!
Once I stopped putting all the extra pressure on myself, I got into a rhythm. School run, nap, clean, lunch, play, school run, tea. Don’t get me wrong, it is not easy and most days the cleaning won’t get done until the kids are in bed. My house is nowhere up to the standards that it used to be and I still don’t always have time to sort myself out.
Without putting standards on myself I started to feel better. I was smiling more and laughing more. I’m still struggling with inner demons and I will be for a while. There is no quick fix and some days the only thing that gets me through the day is a cheeky smile from a one-year-old hooligan.
The NHS states that 1 in 10 people have clinical depression[1]. In 2018 Forth conducted a survey which stated that 42% of women admitted that they were ‘too stressed’[2].
The message I want to get out there is ‘mumming’ is hard, you are not overreacting, you are not worthless, and you may have days when you feel like a failure but it’s ok. We are all feeling that way. You are not alone. You may make some mistakes but it is all part of the process. Remember we can only learn from a mistake if we actually make it in the first place.
[1] NHS, Clinical depression <https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/clinical-depression/>
[2] Forth. Great Britain and Stress – How bad is it and why is it happening?<https://www.forthwithlife.co.uk/blog/great-britain-and-stress/>
Thanks for reading! What do you all think? Would you like to see some more blogs by Rebecca? Let me know your answers to the above questions and any other questions or queries you have either in the comments below or via our Facebook page!
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
A while back, I wrote a post about how to take a few minutes to jolt yourself out of a bad mood. Sometimes, though, we don’t have the luxury of removing ourselves from a situation. When your boss is chewing you out, customers are yelling at you, your kids are having a tantrum, or lots […]
via Worth Trying: Dealing with Stress in the Moment — Amanda Cade
Do you know what inspires you most?
Decision Making – It is something that we take advantage of in day to day life but did you know that it can help slow the rate of deterioration in diseases such as Alzheimer’s? that is exactly what we are going to be looking at in today’s blog, Decision making and how it impacts illnesses such as Alzheimer’s.
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Today/s blog is going to be the eighth blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about Decision Making. Although it is an often overlooked thing in life, the ability to make decisions does have a large effect on us and our bodies. In my opinion, this is because it causes the brain to think and plan decisions out before making them.
Mental Stimulation is an entity that we talk a lot about in this series and it is down to the fact that it is one of the largest factors when it comes to Alzheimer’s. Keeping the brain active and going seems like an easy thing to do when in reality, if not executed well, it can become really difficult. It is why I draw so much attention to it in this series. Tasks like puzzle games and indeed making decisions do make a difference, I am not saying that the difference is always huge, but a difference still is a difference.
So the question arises, how do we get someone with Alzheimer’s to practise decision making?
When it comes to decision making, there are a lot of different avenues you can take. there is no right or wrong answer in regards to which route you choose, it is all down to personal preference. One of the things that I find curious is how everyone seems to undervalue the smaller decisions that we make in life. Although the smaller decisions seem small and unimportant at first, when they build up they make quite the difference.
One of the main routes you can take is smaller and more frequent questions/ decisions. Ask regular questions like how are you feeling? Or maybe questions like what did you do yesterday or how did yesterday go? Although the questions seem really basic they do at least gauge some stimulation from the other person which can make the world of difference.
if you go out for a meal then it gives you the perfect chance to practise decision making. if the person you are with has Dementia/Alzheimer’s then really think about how you go about speaking to them.instead of just assuming that they want what they usually get, use the chance to ask questions. Ask them what would you like? or maybe questions more like, would you like the cod or the steak?
What you may start to notice is the actual question you ask is not important. it is the mental stimulation that is generated from asking the question that is the important thing. If you just sit in the same four walls in complete silence then you are increasing your chance of getting illnesses such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Take some time out of your day to really think about how you are going about your day to day life. Make a change sooner rather than later, when you still have time to change.
That is all I want to talk about in today’s blog! Thank you all for reading! What do you all think? Do you think decision making has an effect on someone getting Alzheimer’s? Do you know any tips or tricks to reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer’s? if so please let me know! Feedback is always appreciated – be it negative or positive!
Thanks for reading,
Sweeney’s Blogs
Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!
£5.00
James
Sweeney's Blogs 