David Solie's blog Archives - Page 23 of 24 - Aging, caregiving and the journey through the second half of life

Conversations at the End…

January 8, 2015

We wish it didn’t come to this, but it does. Someone you care about is at the end of their life. No one knows exactly when but everyone is clear about what’s happening. Now comes the hard part, the conversations…

Caregiver Conflict and Poor Outcomes

June 2, 2014

This article about conflict with family and friends isn’t directed specifically at caregivers but it should be: Common Form of Expression Doubles Risk of Death Here is what they found: “The researchers estimated that that a participant’s risk of death…

Beyond Loss: Grief vs Major Depression

May 17, 2014

With aging comes the loss of those who mean the most to us. There is no way to prepare for it. We are ambushed and swept away into grief and suffering. After some period of time, we slowly, unevenly crawl…

The Medical Journey of Aging Parents

March 9, 2014

We are not bystanders to the medical journey of our aging parents. No matter how daunting the language or specter of healthcare, we are obligated, to the best of our ability, to try and understand what we are being told…

The Social Fabric of Aging Parents

March 6, 2014

Preserving and nurturing social connections is vital to the well being of older adults. Families need to understand the scope and depth of an aging parent’s social network so they can coordinate their efforts to protect and support it. That…

Grandma Knutsen

March 2, 2014

This is my wonderful Grandma Knutsen who immigrated to America in 1892 from Norway. She was “processed” through Ellis Island on her way to the “new” Norway, Minnesota. God rest her heroic soul……

Caregiver Support Lessons…

February 12, 2014

Last fall, I started a caregiver’s support group. The goal was to offer a non-judgmental setting for adult children to share their stories. While being the facilitator, my real job was arranging chairs and making sure everyone had a turn…

Dancing with Negative Feedback: Redirection and Resolution

November 21, 2013

I wrote this article for an assisted living magazine but the technique of “Redirection and Resolution” works in a wide range of situations where negative feedback needs to be managed in a calm, professional manner. Asking the daughter of a…

Communicating with Older Adults: An Update

March 16, 2013

I have been studying how to unlock the communication code of older adults for the last twenty-three years. My first breakthrough came early on with developmental psychology, a model based on age-specific tasks that are easy to understand, easy to…

Dancing with Life Review…

January 10, 2013

Boomers are feeling their age and the pull of life review. It is poetry at its finest as is Dorianne Laux’s magical poem about our swan song. Dark Charms by Dorianne Laux Eventually the future shows up everywhere: those burly…

David Solie’s blog