meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Caregiver's Journey

Navigating Dementia Caregiving Roadmap: Messy Middle Steps 11-17 / Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias

The Caregiver's Journey

Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster

Personal Journals, Self-improvement, Non-profit, Society & Culture, How To, Business, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Education

5.0 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Have you moved beyond the initial steps of your caregiving journey and now find yourself needing to take more control while your loved one still believes they can do most things independently? Are you noticing that simple tasks are becoming increasingly challenging for them, yet they resist your help? You’re not alone! You’ve entered what we call the “messy middle” stage of your caregiving journey.

We created for you the comprehensive, 20-step caregiving journey roadmap guide, Navigating Dementia Caregiving Roadmap

Connect with us and share your tips:


Full Show Notes

Additional Resources Mentioned

Messy Middle

First Steps - You recognize it’s time to assert more control 

11. Focus on safety. 

12. Continue to prioritize your self-care. 

13. Educate yourself on activities of daily living (ADLs).

14.Create a Care Plan - at minimum a Family Emergency Plan.


Messy Middle - Continued

Second Steps - It’s time for more support

15. Start or increase leveraging dementia/adult day programs. 

  • Community resource finder: 
  • Select Community Services and choose Adult Day Centers for your search.

16. Start thinking about professional help.


17. Continue your education.



Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is the Whole Care Network, helping you tell your story one podcast at a time.

0:16.0

Content presented in the following podcast is for information purposes only.

0:22.7

Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and guests

0:28.1

and may not represent the views and opinions of the Whole Care Network.

0:33.2

Always consult with your physician for any medical advice.

0:36.8

And always consult with your attorney for any medical advice and always consult with your

0:38.3

attorney for any legal advice. And thank you for listening to the Whole Care Network.

0:52.6

Have you ever felt overwhelmed because you can't find the information you need or you're just drowning in so many conflicting resources you don't know what to do with it all?

1:04.4

Nancy and I are discussing a step-by-step roadmap that points you to the resources to prioritize in the middle of our dementia

1:14.0

caregiving journey. We began actually this series in the beginning. So if you haven't listened

1:20.0

to the previous episodes that talked about the beginning, it may be helpful for you to listen

1:24.8

to them first. We discussed this first stage in the beginning

1:28.3

of the dementia family caregiving journey in podcast episode 43. We covered steps one through six.

1:36.4

Then in episode 44, we talked about steps seven through 10. In this episode, we're in the messy middle now,

1:45.7

and we're talking about steps 11 through 17.

1:50.4

Welcome.

1:51.6

We're Sue Ryan and Nancy Treister.

1:54.1

This podcast brings our years of experience

1:56.3

in a variety of family caregiving roles

1:58.2

to prepare you to navigate your caregiving journey.

2:01.7

We're sharing our personal experiences, not medical advice, and because it's our passion to

2:07.2

support you on your journey, we believe no topic is off limits. Let's get started.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.