8 tips for dealing with winter blues in elderly

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8 tips for dealing with winter blues in elderly

Dark mornings and even darker evenings with chilly grey days in between means winter is here — and with the cold season comes the winter blues.

If you or your loved one struggle with the “winter blues” you know how difficult it can be to make it through the holiday season. Although winter does bring in the festive holidays it also means less sunlight, shorter days and colder weather. As a result it leads to reduced physical activity, more sleep, less interest in activities, social withdrawal, unhealthy eating and a general sense of feeling low.

Brain disorders caused by alcohol misuse

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Brain disorders caused by alcohol misuse

WHO recently reported that India’s alcohol consumption has doubled in a decade. Rises in heavy drinking among all classes and backgrounds indicate a potential surge in reporting of alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD). If someone you know is a heavy drinker, displays signs of mental confusion, difficulty walking, and has vision problems, they might be already be affected. In this post, we talk about brain disorders caused by alcohol misuse, and the signs to look out for.

5 reasons why you need trained attendants and nurses for dementia and elder care

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5 reasons why you need trained attendants and nurses for dementia and elder care

As we age, our dependency and hence need requirement for support increases. Dependency can be physical, social, psychological, or/ and  emotional and it can be even more critical if a senior develops any form of disease which has an impact on their cognitive abilities, for eg, dementia or any other related disorder. Under such circumstances, our elderly loved one needs a helping hand from a person with compassion and sensitivity to understand the disease and its related symptoms.

Note from our Founder: Celebrating 5 years of Samvedna!

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Note from our Founder: Celebrating 5 years of Samvedna!

When I set out to start Samvedna in early 2013, honestly, I had a hazy picture of what I wanted to do. The only thing that was clear to me was to make a difference in the lives of seniors, break the mundane routine and do something about their loneliness and social isolation. The idea of an activity centre, a platform for seniors to socialize and also channelize their energy in a positive way, was thus born. Soon we realized that a lot of seniors cannot come to the centre because of mobility issues, hence the home services were developed.

Dementia Support Group: Impact of Social, Physical and Cognitive Interventions

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Dementia Support Group: Impact of Social, Physical and Cognitive Interventions

On 6th October 2018, we conducted our Support Group Meeting for caregivers of dementia patient. A large group of caregivers from in and around Gurgaon and Delhi came to attend the session. The main agenda of the session was to acknowledge the pain of caregivers and to help them in their needs. The topic of the session was “Dementia Management Impact of Social, Physical and Cognitive Interventions. The session was unlocked by Dr. Jayashree Dasgupta, MPhil, PhD, Neuropsychology, NIMHANS, who is the Project Director of Samvedna Senior Care.

Tips for managing hospital visits and medication for your spouse with dementia

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med management

Mr. Malhotra (name changed), a retired IAF officer, lives with his wife (55), who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 53. Mrs. Malhotra has always been an active and independent woman. She is a highly educated woman and was working as a scientist till a few years back.  She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and since then her disease has been progressing rapidly. Mr. Malhotra has been her primary caregiver. Mrs. Malhotra is suffering from some other ailments as well and requires monthly visits to the doctor for review. She is unable to manage her own medicines and gets really hassled every time she goes for a doctor’s review.

Coping with the changing relationship with your spouse once she is diagnosed with dementia

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1 (1)Marriage is a scared union between two people, where the couple vow to hold on to each other for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death separates them apart. But what happens when one of the loved one does not remember, not only the vows, but the spouse with whom he/she took the vows?

Caring Relations, Caring for Ageing – Workshop and interactions with Heidelberg University, Germany

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IMG_0568It was our pleasure to host the students and professors of Heidelberg University, Germany and JNU, Delhi for a workshop on Caring Relations, Caring for Ageing. This is a part of an ongoing DAAD Project, New directions in Active Ageing and Age Friendly Cultures in India and Germany.

At the inauguration of the workshop at JNU, our founder Archana Sharma shared her thoughts with the group on Samvedna’s journey and its challenges and the changing social relationships in context of nuclear families in big cities like Gurgaon.

11 tips to prepare your elderly loved one for a surgery

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hospital_elderlyWe all get a little nervous when we are advised surgery whether it is for a small procedure like cataract, hernia, prostrate etc. or something more serious like a heart bypass, knee/ hip replacement or Cholecystectomy. For some elderly the decision to go into a surgery can be more traumatizing, especially when the immunity levels are weaker and there are multiple ailments to worry about. Surgical intervention is a stressful process no matter how small the procedure is, and impacts both the physical and psychological recovery.