Podcast · Learning

Dementia Careblazers

by Dr. Natali Edmonds · English · Learning

We prepare dementia caregivers for success. Say goodbye to the overwhelm & struggle and learn the real tips, strategies, and solutions that help make dementia caregiving easier. With board certified geropsychologist, Dr. Natali Edmonds Sign up for a free training on How To Care For A Loved One Wit

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 13 min
Latest: 8 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026 · 9 min

3 Things in Dementia That Look Like Lying (But Aren't)

When someone with dementia insists they're still safe to drive, describes a visit that never happened, or swears someone is stealing from them, it can look a lot like lying. Or like they're refusing to see what's right in front of them. But a lie means knowing the truth and choosing to say something different, and that's not what's happening here. In this episode, I'm walking through three common dementia symptoms that can look like lying from the outside: anosognosia, confabulation, and delusions. I'll explain what's going on in the brain with each one, how to tell them apart, and the one…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E200 · 2 Oct 2026 · 22 min
5 MORE Strange Dementia Behaviors and Why They Happen
Sometimes the strangest dementia behaviors have a pattern or explanation that isn't obvious at first. Maybe your loved one seems fine earlier in the day but becomes restless every evening. Maybe they follow you everywhere, hide or collect unusual things, believe they're living in a different time of their life, or suddenly seem perfectly fine when the doctor walks into the room. After the first strange behaviors episode, so many of you told me your loved one does these things too, or that the explanation finally helped it make sense. So in this episode, I'm breaking down 5 MORE: sundowning,…
28 Sep 2026 · 19 min
This Dementia Tool Helps When You're Not There
➡️ Learn more about Memory Board: https://www.memoryboard.com/DEMENTIA24702 When you visit through this link, look for the pop-up with a Careblazers promo code. Paid link: Dementia Careblazers may earn a referral fee from purchases made through this link and promo code. Helping someone with dementia keep track of what's happening throughout the day can mean a lot of reminders, phone calls, notes, and repeated updates. In this episode, I'm talking with Tyler Zannini, founder of Memory Board, about a simple tool families are using to share schedules, reminders, messages, photos, and other…
E199 · 24 Sep 2026 · 15 min
4 Common Phrases That Make Dementia Behaviors Worse
There are a few phrases dementia caregivers say all the time that sound completely normal but can actually make dementia behaviors worse. Things like "I already told you," "Don't you remember?" or "You just asked me that" usually come from frustration or from genuinely trying to help. But dementia changes what the brain is able to remember, process, and explain. In this episode, I break down 4 common communication traps, why they can backfire, and what you can do instead. I also get into why the best response for your loved one might be completely different from the best response for someone…
E198 · 18 Sep 2026 · 22 min
6 Normal Habits That Make Dementia Behaviors Worse
Some of the habits that make dementia behaviors worse come from loving, kind caregivers doing exactly what works with everyone else in their lives. Correcting a mistake, explaining why the medication matters, or asking "do you remember who this is?" can quietly lead to more agitation, resistance, and mistrust. In this episode, I'm walking through six of these everyday habits, why they backfire when someone has dementia, and what you can try instead. You can be completely right and still end up losing the moment. These habits take time to break, and noticing them is where it starts. If you'd…
E197 · 10 Sep 2026 · 16 min
5 Strange Dementia Behaviors and Why They Happen
Some dementia behaviors can make absolutely no sense from the outside. It can look like your loved one is being lazy, stubborn, rude, in denial, or even lying to you. But there's often a brain-based reason for what you're seeing. In this episode, I break down 5 strange dementia behaviors, apathy, anosognosia, apraxia, disinhibition, and confabulation — and explain what may actually be happening in the brain when they occur. Because when you understand why a behavior is happening, it can completely change the way you see it. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to…
E196 · 3 Sep 2026 · 8 min
How to Help When Someone With Dementia Knows They're Struggling
When someone with dementia knows they're struggling, they may start doing less and less. They might get frustrated, say things like "I can't do anything right," or stop doing things they used to enjoy. In this episode, I'm talking about why this can happen and, more importantly, how you can help. I'll share some simple ways to support their confidence and adapt activities as their abilities change. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here . → Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 - A Careblazer's…
E195 · 27 Aug 2026 · 13 min
Is It Jealousy or Dementia? Why They Act Worse When You're Busy
Have you ever noticed your loved one with dementia is calm, nothing seems to be wrong, and then the moment you shift your attention to someone else they completely change? They get demanding, upset, anxious, or jealous that you are not there giving them attention. It can feel like they cannot stand not being the center of your attention, and understandably that leaves you feeling frustrated, resentful, and confused. It is not jealousy. It is not manipulation. In this episode I share two real life examples of this, explain what is happening in the brain that causes it, and walk you through…
E194 · 20 Aug 2026 · 6 min
4 Places Dementia Caregivers Can Turn for Help
Caring for someone with dementia can feel overwhelming, especially when you're not sure where to turn for help. In this episode, I'm sharing several places dementia caregivers can go for support, guidance, and resources, plus one important step families often wait too long to think about. You do not have to wait until there's a crisis to start getting help. The Dementia Care Toolkit is officially available for pre-order. This book was written for the real-life moments of dementia caregiving, the moments when you're overwhelmed, unsure what to do, and need something practical to reach for. ➡️…
E193 · 13 Aug 2026 · 11 min
Stop Trying to Make Someone With Dementia Happy All the Time
If you have taken the car keys, stepped in on the checkbook, or said no to something your loved one with dementia badly wanted, you already know what comes next. They are hurt. They are angry. And they are angry at you. I want you to hear this first. Their unhappiness is not a report card on your caregiving. This is one of the hardest parts of dementia caregiving, because it does not just feel hard. It feels like proof you are getting it wrong. And that is exactly what it is not. In this episode I explain why trying to keep your loved one happy all the time puts their safety at risk, what it…
E192 · 7 Aug 2026 · 8 min
3 Things Dementia Care Gets Completely Backwards
If you've ever felt like every appointment, every follow-up, and every ounce of attention goes to your loved one with dementia while nobody ever asks how you're doing, you're not imagining it. Dementia care as a system was built around the person with the diagnosis, not the person keeping them alive day after day. And it's not just that you get overlooked. Most of what we call dementia care is reactive, waiting for a crisis before it teaches you anything, and even the best behavior advice skips right over the grief you're carrying underneath it. In this episode I break down the three ways…
E191 · 30 Jul 2026 · 14 min
Memory Care Doesn't Make Dementia Caregiving Easier
You made the hardest decision of your life and moved your loved one with dementia into memory care. Then you waited for the relief you were promised. It never fully came. You still feel completely wiped out after visits, even good ones, and no one has explained why. Placement changes the physical work of caregiving, but it does not turn off your nervous system, your grief, or the recovery your body still needs. In this episode I break down the three real reasons your exhaustion continues after a memory care placement, and what to actually do about it. If you'd like to see this episode on…
E190 · 23 Jul 2026 · 10 min
Could Ozempic Help Prevent Dementia?
You've probably seen the headlines about Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs and Alzheimer's disease. One week it sounds like a breakthrough. The next, not so much. A large study found a much lower rate of Alzheimer's diagnoses in people taking these medications. Then a major clinical trial published this year found something very different. Neither one is wrong. And understanding why matters, especially if you're the one trying to make sense of it for your family. In this video I walk you through what the research on Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs actually found, the meaningful difference between…
E189 · 16 Jul 2026 · 11 min
Why Dementia Caregivers Stop Feeling Like Themselves
If you're a dementia caregiver who barely recognizes yourself anymore, I want you to hear this before anything else: you are not broken, and you have not become a different person. Years of pouring everything into someone else can quietly erase the parts of you that existed before caregiving ever started. This isn't a personality change. It's what sustained, nonstop caregiving does to a nervous system. There is an actual name for what's happening to you, and once you understand it, it becomes something you can work with instead of something to fear. In this episode I explain what's really…
E188 · 9 Jul 2026 · 11 min
5 Dementia Caregiving Truths I Wish Every Caregiver Knew
Dementia caregiving asks you to carry things nobody prepares you for, and some of the hardest parts are never said out loud. This video isn't based on research. It's based on what I've learned from working with thousands of caregivers over the past 17 years as a geropsychologist. If caregiving still hurts even though you're doing everything right, if people question your decisions, if you can't stop replaying every hard moment in your head, I want you to hear this first: none of that means you're failing. In this episode I walk you through five truths about dementia caregiving I wish every…
2 Jul 2026 · 17 min
Why Someone With Dementia Keeps Asking the Same Question
If your loved one with dementia has asked you the same question five, ten, or forty times in the last hour, you know the kind of patience it takes to keep answering. And you probably know the guilt that follows when you finally run out of it. What most caregivers don't realize is that something very specific is happening inside the brain to drive this. Understanding it changes both how you respond and how hard you are on yourself afterward. In this episode I walk you through why someone with dementia repeats the same questions and stories, what's actually going on neurologically, and five…
E186 · 25 Jun 2026 · 12 min
Shadowing In Dementia: Why They Follow You Everywhere
Shadowing in dementia is one of the most exhausting behaviors caregivers face, and almost no one warns you about it. You can't walk to the bathroom alone anymore. The moment you stand up, they stand up. You step into the kitchen for five minutes and there they are in the doorway, watching you. The private phone calls are gone, the personal space is gone, and then comes the guilt for even wanting a moment to yourself. In this episode I explain what is actually happening in the brain that drives shadowing, why your presence has become the only thing that makes them feel safe, and four things…
E185 · 18 Jun 2026 · 15 min
This Surprising Sign of Dementia Shows Up 6 Years Before Diagnosis
Before the memory problems, confusion, and obvious dementia symptoms, many families notice something else first: money problems. Missed bill payments, unusual purchases, giving money away, falling for scams, or struggling to manage finances can sometimes be among the earliest signs of dementia. Research now shows these financial changes may appear years before a dementia diagnosis is ever made. In this episode, I explain why money management is often one of the first cognitive skills affected by dementia, what the research says about financial warning signs appearing up to six years before…
E184 · 11 Jun 2026 · 13 min
Alzheimer's Drugs Don't Work? What Caregivers Need to Know
If your loved one with Alzheimer's disease is on one of the new treatment drugs, or you have been weighing whether to try them, the headlines from this spring may have stopped you cold. A major review from one of the most respected research organizations in the world concluded these drugs show no meaningful benefit. Researchers immediately fired back. And you are in the middle of all of it, as a caregiver trying to make real decisions for a real person. Your confusion is completely warranted. This is not a simple story. One headline says breakthrough. The next says it does nothing. But the…
E183 · 4 Jun 2026 · 11 min
Surprising Reason Why Dementia Gets Worse In the Evening
Have you noticed your loved one with dementia seems like a completely different person every evening? The confusion, the agitation, the restlessness — and then the nights when they're up convinced it's morning — it's exhausting in a way that's hard to put into words. It is not something you caused or something you missed. New research published in December 2025 finally gives us a neurological explanation for why dementia gets worse in the evening, and it has nothing to do with what you are doing. In this episode I walk you through what the science reveals, what actually helps, and what tends…
E182 · 28 May 2026 · 13 min
5 Reasons Dementia Caregivers Struggle Making Hard Decisions
Making caregiving decisions is hard in a way most people around you won't understand. The stakes are real. The information is incomplete. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you're already afraid of being wrong. If you've been circling a decision for weeks — or months — and still can't seem to make a move, your brain isn't broken. There are five specific thought patterns that make caregiving decisions feel nearly impossible, and once you can name them, something shifts. In this video I walk you through all five and what to actually do about them. Ready to work through a real decision…
E181 · 14 May 2026 · 13 min
How to Respond When Someone with Dementia Accuses You of Stealing
Being accused of stealing by the person you are giving everything to is one of the most quietly devastating things that happens in dementia caregiving. It does not just feel unfair. It strikes at your identity, your dignity, and the relationship you had before all of this. And because it can happen over and over, with no memory that it happened before, many caregivers absorb these accusations alone, without ever really being told why it happens or what they can actually do. There is a neurological reason for this. And it has nothing to do with how your loved one truly feels about you. In…
E180 · 7 May 2026 · 16 min
When Family Doesn't Believe the Dementia Diagnosis
When your family doesn't believe the dementia diagnosis, it can feel like you are grieving two losses at once. Family denial is one of the most painful and isolating experiences a dementia caregiver can go through. In this episode, I'm going to explain why it happens and what you can actually do about it. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here . Get free weekly tools and tips in my newsletter, The Dementia Dose: https://tinyurl.com/dementiadose-podcast Chapters: 0:00 When family doesn't believe the diagnosis 2:13 Why this feels so isolating…
E179 · 30 Apr 2026 · 15 min
The Blood Test That Detects Alzheimer's Years Before Symptoms
A new Alzheimer's blood test was just approved by the FDA and it changes everything about how families get answers. For years, confirming Alzheimer's disease meant expensive brain scans or invasive procedures most people couldn't access. Now a simple blood draw can detect Alzheimer's markers in the body... up to 3 to 4 years before symptoms even begin. In this episode I break down what the Alzheimer's blood test actually measures, how accurate it is, and what you can ask your doctor right now. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here . Get…
E178 · 23 Apr 2026 · 10 min
Why Someone With Dementia Stops Doing Things
If your loved one used to fix things, run the household, stay busy and now they just sit there, you're probably wondering what happened. Are they depressed? Have they given up? Do they even care anymore? They do. And what's happening is not what it looks like. In this episode, I'm breaking down why someone with dementia withdraws from daily life, why their brain learns to stop trying, and why nothing you say seems to change it. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here . → Join the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/re-sales-podcast Get free…
E177 · 16 Apr 2026 · 13 min
What Causes Bathroom Problems In Dementia
Bathroom challenges are one of the most common, and least talked about, parts of dementia caregiving. You've tried asking. You've tried reminding. You've tried everything. And it still isn't working. This isn't defiance. It isn't stubbornness. What's happening in the brain is making the bathroom one of the hardest spaces for someone with dementia to navigate. The bathroom requires more brain systems working together than almost any other room in the home. In this episode I walk through the most common reasons people with dementia struggle with the bathroom — and what you can do about it. If…
9 Apr 2026 · 11 min
Dementia Caregivers, You Don't Have to Wait Until It Gets Worse
The number one mistake dementia caregivers make is waiting. Waiting until things get harder. Waiting for the right moment. Waiting until they feel like they really need support. And it makes complete sense why. When difficulty builds slowly, your brain adapts. What felt overwhelming six months ago becomes your new normal. And before long, you stop being able to accurately measure just how much your life has changed. But here is what I want you to hear. The moment things feel manageable is not the least important time to get support. It is one of the most important. In this episode I explain…
E175 · 2 Apr 2026 · 12 min
What Causes Sudden Decline In Dementia?
Sudden decline in dementia is one of the scariest things a caregiver can witness. One day they were walking. One day they were talking. And then almost overnight, they weren't. Most caregivers in this moment think they missed something. Or that this is just the next stage. But sudden dramatic changes are not typically how dementia progresses. And knowing the difference between expected progression and a medical red flag could change everything for your loved one right now. Gradual change fits dementia. Sudden change requires investigation. In this episode I walk you through the most common…
E174 · 26 Mar 2026 · 11 min
Why Some People With Dementia Become Mean
If your loved one with dementia has become mean, sharp, cruel, or just completely different toward you, I want you to hear this first: you are not imagining it. And you are not failing. This is one of the most painful parts of dementia caregiving because it doesn't just feel hard. It feels personal. In this episode I explain exactly what is happening in the brain that causes this, why it is not their true personality coming out, and how to understand it in a way that protects both your heart and your sanity. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube…
E173 · 19 Mar 2026 · 8 min
Why Someone With Dementia Thinks They're Living in the Past
If your loved one with dementia believes they are living decades in the past, you are not alone. They may ask for parents who passed away long ago, think they still have a job they retired from years ago, or believe their children are still young. In this episode, I explain why this happens in dementia, why correcting someone often makes things worse, and how you can respond in a way that reduces distress instead of escalating the situation. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here . Download my Free Careblazer Survival Guide (60+ pages of…

About Dementia Careblazers

Dementia Careblazers is a English learning podcast from Dr. Natali Edmonds. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Dr. Natali Edmonds
Language: English
Category: Learning
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 13 min
Latest episode: 8 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1634661439
Rights: Careblazers.com

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