What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness Robert Waldinger, TEDx Beacon Street, filmed November 2015 Researchers at Harvard, after studying participants for 75 years, have discovered conclusively that it is not money, or fame or even achievement that create a sense of happiness or physical health. This multi-generational research team found instead that (i) the…
The new year has arrived, and I’m still wondering how on earth I arrived at the year 2000! The older we get, the quicker the years seems to go, but of course as I’ve speculated before, that is relative to our age as a year at my age, is more than 1/50th of my age, where…
It is Christmas Eve in Australia, and after reading an article yesterday about really having time away from the daily routines and work, I have decided this is my last blog for 2015! I have had a truly incredible year, full of many highs and at least as many lows. It is wonderful that I have…
Yes, I am suffering… but only some of the time not every moment of every day And, importantly… not always from dementia more often from the language of dementia The symptoms of dementia do not consume me one hundred percent of the time Only some moments of some days and definitely not all days So why then must others…
I’ve written on this many times, but also feel, no matter how many times we talk about Neuroplasticity, and the brain’s ability to change and heal itself, it will never be enough as not everyone is yet listening. I am a firm believe, and have been for a very long time. I have also believed…
If you are someone with dementia, or supporting a person with dementia, remember they may have hurts and losses, perhaps even similar to what I describe below, but consciously or unconsciously exacerbated with all the ‘joy’ of an occasion like Christmas, that is ripping up their heart inside, and making them seem more anxious, upset or angry. They…
I might have mentioned an online friend who is sending me YouTube links to Willie Nelson tracks for Christmas. So, it seems, Paul is another man in my life, and having some impact as well! The downside to this, if there is one, is that I have no desire to write blogs, and just want to sit…
This is a simple, succinct quote on who’s got the problem in caring for or communicating with people with dementia, and if this point was taken seriously, and considered fully in the dementia sector, 90% of the so-called ‘challenging behaviours’ we are so negatively and glibly labelled with would probably never surface… If you can’t understand…
It is truly wonderful to see this project, and the work in the Kiama Municipal Council and University of Wollongong being recognised for its significance, and I am proud to call many of the people in the video my friends and to have been a part of the work there. Personally, I believe the Dementia Friendly…
This particular Article of the UN CRPD sounds so simple, and yet, in reality, it is not happening for many people with any form of disAbilities, but even less so for people with dementia as we have not even been recognised as having the same rights (yet!!). In my own experience, I was not afforded,…
If giving the world the best I have, means I get kicked, loved, or ignored, it is still my choice to give it my best, and to speak up for all people with dementia, for our human rights, our disAbility rights, and for inclusion, no discrimination, reducing stigma and isolation, and for respect, including respectful…
One of the biggest challenges for me is letting go of the abilities I once had. Yes, I know it is easy to say, “but you can still do so many things”, but let me just say how devastating it is having to let go of functioning. I am not talking about physical functioning, as…
It seems my focus on our basic human rights, and disAbility rights, is keeping me focussed on the UN CRPD this week, and I suspect this is where I needed to be about six years ago when I first started speaking out as an advocate… better late than never! 🙂 Seeing the person, not the dementia or…
finding our way wanting the same our differences visible or invisible not to be seen as disabilities but as Abilities we are still the same even though we may look different or act differently to you our hearts are in tact we still have desires and a need to be independent to learn from each…
Following on from yesterday, the International Day of Persons with disAbilities, and the theme of human rights and disAbility rights, I am today highlighting another Article of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with DisAbilities (CRPD). I have been advocating for almost as long as I have had a dementia, that we have…
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