Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians: Tips for Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregivers to Manage Stress, Prevent Burnout & Handle Difficult Behaviors

About Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians: Tips for Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregivers to Manage Stress, Prevent Burnout & Handle Difficult Behaviors

Are You a Christian Family Caregiver Feeling Stuck, Overwhelmed, or Unsure What To Do Next? If you're caring for a spouse, parent, or loved one with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, you've probably spent hours searching for answers. You've read the books. Listened to the podcasts. Talked to the doctors. Searched online late at night. And yet you may still find yourself asking: "What am I supposed to do now?" Welcome to Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians, the podcast that helps Christian caregivers recognize what is actually happening in their caregiving situation so they can move forward with greater confidence, wisdom, and faithfulness. Because  caregiving challenges are  frequently not solved by information alone. Often the hardest part is understanding what has changed. You may be wondering whether your loved one is still safe to stay home alone. Whether it is time to stop driving. Why bathing has become a daily battle. Why evenings suddenly feel more confusing, difficult, or unpredictable. Why your loved one keeps asking the same question over and over again. Or why caregiving now requires more time, energy, responsibility, and supervision than it did six months ago. What used to work no longer works. And you're not always sure what to do next. Whether you're caring for a spouse, parent, or family member living with dementia, this podcast helps you think clearly about your caregiving situations through a biblical worldview so you can faithfully steward your responsibilities, care well for your loved one, and honor Christ in the process. Here are some of the questions Christian caregivers are asking: ✅ Why does my loved one with dementia keep asking the same questions repeatedly? ✅ How do I know when memory loss is becoming a safety concern? ✅ What should I do when my loved one refuses bathing, medication, meals, or other daily care? ✅ Why are evenings becoming more difficult, confusing, or unpredictable (sundowning)? ✅ How do I know when I can no longer leave my loved one alone safely? ✅ When should I start worrying about wandering, driving, or getting lost? ✅ How do I know when it may be time for memory care, assisted living, or a nursing home? ✅ Why does caregiving keep becoming more difficult even though I've learned so much about dementia? ✅ How do I balance caring for my loved one, my spouse, my children, my work, and my other responsibilities? ✅ Why do I feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or stuck when trying to make caregiving decisions? ✅ What does faithful dementia caregiving look like from a Christian perspective? ✅ How do I trust God when I am uncertain about what to do next? ✅ How do I make difficult caregiving decisions without being consumed by guilt? ✅ What does the Bible teach about caring for aging parents living with dementia? ✅ How do I care for my loved one without neglecting the other responsibilities God has entrusted to me? This podcast is not about collecting more information. It is about recognizing what is actually happening when driving becomes a concern, when you can no longer leave someone alone safely, when dementia behaviors keep escalating, when caregiving begins affecting your marriage or family, or when you are no longer sure what the next faithful step should be. Because what worked before may no longer fit what your caregiving situation requires today. Each episode is designed to help you: ✔️ Recognize situations many caregivers miss until they become crises ✔️ Understand why certain problems keep returning ✔️ Think more clearly about difficult caregiving challenges ✔️ View dementia caregiving through a biblical worldview ✔️ Better recognize what you may actually be facing You won't find fear-based advice, false promises, or empty encouragement here. You'll find biblical truth, practical wisdom, and thoughtful conversations about the real situations Christian caregivers face every day. 🎧 Subscribe now to Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians. 📍 If you're wondering about driving, staying home alone, memory care, wandering, bathing, caregiver exhaustion, difficult dementia behaviors, or other common caregiving challenges, visit DignicareByDesign.com (https://www.dignicarebydesign.com/) to identify which caregiving situation (https://www.dignicarebydesign.com/) most closely matches what you're facing today. Still unsure what you're facing? Start with the "Determine What Needs To Happen Next" (https://www.dignicarebydesign.com/) assessment. 🙏 May the Lord bless and keep you—and I'll see you in the next episode.

Publisher

Lizette Cloete, OTR/L, is the founder of DigniCare™ by Design and host of Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians.

Category

education · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Jul 2024

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

217 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   361. How Christian Caregivers Know IF Dad’s Weight Loss Actually Requires More of You

   Your dad is eating less. You are buying foods he likes, encouraging him to eat, paying attention to what he finishes, and trying to make sure he gets enough. But he keeps losing weight. And eventually, the question may stop being only, “How do I get him to eat more?” You may begin wondering, “Does this mean I need to do something differently? Am I missing something? Am I failing him?” In this episode of Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians, we look at what a loved one’s weight loss actually means for the caregiver. Weight loss matters. But before you decide that it means you need to do more, you have to understand what is actually happening. Sometimes there is something that needs to be evaluated or changed. Sometimes the person is declining despite appropriate care. And sometimes there may be more that could be done without that meaning more is actually required. The question is not simply, “What else can I do?” It is, “What does this change actually require of me?” Key Advisory Points Why weight loss needs to be understood before you make it a verdict about your caregiving. How responsibility for care differs from responsibility for the outcome. Why “more is possible” does not automatically mean “more is required.” Timestamps 00:07 — Caregiving Questions Unboxed02:53 — A Different Case Study04:13 — Cause Before Verdict08:21 — Care, Not Outcomes12:47 — Possible Isn’t Required17:16 — Faithful Through Weight Loss The Advisory Takeaway You can provide appropriate care and still have a person continue to lose weight. You can respond to what has changed without assuming responsibility for every outcome. And you can recognize that there may be more that could be done without automatically deciding that faithfulness requires you to do it. The work is to understand what is actually happening, determine what responsibility follows, and then carry what is actually yours. Ask the DigniCare™ Advisor If there is a caregiving situation you keep trying to figure out, bring it to Ask the DigniCare™ Advisor. Maybe the burden has gotten heavier. Maybe there is a conversation you do not know how to have, a decision you can see coming, or the emotional or spiritual weight of wondering whether you are doing enough. You do not need to bring your whole caregiving story. Bring the situation you are trying to understand now, and start by looking at what is changing. In this free live Zoom session, we will look at what is actually happening, what matters most in this particular situation, and what your next faithful step may be. https://www.dignicarebydesign.com/ask Disclaimer This podcast offers a Caregiving System Advising perspective grounded in a Christian worldview. It is not medical advice. Medical evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment remain within the authority of appropriate healthcare professionals.

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   360. How Christians Understand Dementia When Someone You Love Is Still Here But So Much Keeps Getting Lost

   Someone you love is still here. They may still live at home, follow familiar routines, make choices, and have good days. And at the same time, dementia may be taking away memory, independence, abilities, and parts of the life you both knew. So how should a Christian understand what is happening when the person is still here, but so much keeps getting lost? In this episode of Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians, we look at dementia through the cross. The episode begins with a difficult tension: a person can live with dementia, live well with dementia, and still suffer. Those things are not mutually exclusive. From there, we look at three Christian truths that shape how we understand dementia, caregiving, weakness, dependence, and loss. The key distinction is this: dementia can change what a person is able to do without changing who that person is before God. Key Advisory Points Suffering is not evidence that God has abandoned you in caregiving. A person with dementia can still be the same person before God even as abilities decline. Dementia may take away memory, independence, decision-making, mobility, and other abilities. Losing those abilities does not make someone less valuable. Receiving care does not make a person less worthy than when they were able to care for themselves. The cross challenges the world’s categories of strength, usefulness, independence, and loss. Caregivers and care receivers are both dependent on God. Faithful caregiving does not mean you can stop decline. Christian hope is not based on dementia turning out the way you want. It is grounded in Christ and the resurrection. Timestamps 00:05 — Caregiving and Hidden Need01:23 — Dementia and Christian Blind Spots03:37 — The Cross and Caregiving06:41 — Suffering Isn’t Abandonment12:40 — Weakness Reframed by the Cross17:51 — Hope in Ongoing Decline23:37 — Caring for God’s Glory The Advisory Takeaway Dementia brings real loss. A person may lose memory, independence, decision-making, mobility, and the ability to do things that once shaped how others understood who they were. But those losses do not determine that person’s worth. In this episode, the cross changes the way we interpret weakness and dependence. The person who once served others may now need to be served. The person who once lived independently may now depend on someone else for care. Receiving care does not make that person less valuable. And faithful caregiving does not mean preventing every loss. You may care faithfully and still watch dementia progress. You may not understand what God is doing while you are living through it. The Christian hope in this episode is not that caregiving will become easy or that decline will stop. It is that suffering and decline do not place the caregiver or the person living with dementia outside the care and purposes of God. Ask the DigniCare™ Advisor If there is a caregiving situation you keep trying to figure out, bring it to Ask the DigniCare™ Advisor. You do not need to bring your whole caregiving story. Bring the situation you are trying to understand now. In this free live Zoom session, we will look at what has changed, what still works, what is actually yours to do, and what needs attention next. Learn more and register. Disclaimer This podcast provides caregiving system advising perspective and Christian reflection and is not medical advice. Medical evaluation and treatment decisions remain within the authority of appropriate healthcare professionals.

3. 

   22 Sept 2026

   359. Should You Correct Your Husband with Dementia at His Doctor's Appointment?

   Your husband still goes to his doctor’s appointments. He answers the questions and may tell the doctor, “I’m fine.” But you know what is happening at home. So what do you do? Correct him in front of the doctor, or stay quiet? In this episode of Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians, we work through Janet’s real caregiving question from a live advising conversation. Janet is seeing things at home that her husband may not report to the doctor. The conversation first separates her medication concern from the specific question about what to do during the appointment. The key distinction is simple: the doctor needs accurate information, but that does not necessarily mean correcting your husband in front of the doctor. We look at practical ways to make sure the doctor receives relevant information before the appointment while allowing the doctor to medically evaluate the patient. Key Advisory Points What you see at home may not be visible during a brief appointment. Separate different concerns so you can address the actual question. The doctor needs relevant and accurate information. Providing that information does not necessarily require correcting your husband in the room. Use the patient portal or a brief written list to communicate important observations. Once the information is provided, allow the doctor to conduct the medical evaluation. Timestamps 00:03 — The Doctor Visit01:58 — Ask the DigniCare Advisor03:45 — Finding the Real Question03:58 — Should You Correct Him?06:04 — The Doctor Needs to Know07:21 — Share the Information08:30 — Give the Doctor a Note09:45 — Janet’s Next Step10:21 — Bring Your Situation The Advisory Takeaway Knowing what is happening at home is important. But knowing does not automatically tell you what you should do with that information. In Janet’s situation, the question was how to make sure the doctor receives the information he needs without making correction in the room the only option. Ask the DigniCare Advisor Have a caregiving situation you are still trying to work through? Bring the actual situation to Ask the DigniCare Advisor. Saturday, September 26 at 3 p.m. Eastern Register for Ask the DigniCare Advisor Disclaimer This podcast provides caregiving system advising perspective and is not medical advice. Medical evaluation and treatment decisions remain within the authority of appropriate healthcare professionals.

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