📍Episode Summary:

Caring for someone with dementia will mess with your head, your heart, and your whole damn life. In this brutally honest episode, Beth Friesen pulls back the curtain on the parts no one talks about—the exhaustion, the guilt, the grief that starts long before anyone dies, and the moments of joy that still somehow exist in the chaos.

From the moment her mom forgot how to make meatloaf to the day they finally got the Alzheimer's diagnosis, Beth shares the emotional rollercoaster of caregiving: the missed warning signs, the misinformed assumptions, and the deep, life-altering impact it had on her family. This is the episode caregivers didn’t know they needed.

If you're caring for someone with dementia—or love someone who is—this one's for you.

🧠 What You'll Hear in This Episode:

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• The story behind Beth’s bestselling book: I Love Someone with Dementia…So Why Am I Losing My Mind?
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• Why most support systems for caregivers fall wildly short
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• The moment denial shattered and the truth became unavoidable
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• How grief starts long before the funeral
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• What no one tells you about cortisol, PTSD, and the brutal toll on your body and brain
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• The 5 truths every caregiver needs to know
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• And the 5 things every midlife woman navigating caregiving must remember
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🛠️ Practical Tools and Takeaways:

Top 5 Things Every Dementia Caregiver Should Know:

1. Enter Their Reality – Don’t drag them into yours.
2. They're Not Giving You a Hard Time, They’re Having One – Lead with compassion.
3. Everything Has a Cost – And that includes you.
4. Joy Over Perfection – Laughter is still allowed here.
5. Grief Starts Early – You’re not imagining it.

Top 5 Reminders for Midlife Women in the Thick of It:

1. You’re allowed to not be okay.
2. Ask for help. (Seriously.)
3. Some people will disappear. Let them.
4. You need breaks—not someday. Now.
5. You still get to live, laugh, and want more.

📚 Mentioned in the Episode:

🟣 I Love Someone with Dementia…So Why Am I Losing My Mind?

by Beth Friesen — Grab your copy on Amazon »

Because someone should’ve told you the truth already.

💬 Quote to Remember:
"You’re not crazy. You’re just loving someone whose brain is breaking—and yes, that will break yours a little too."
❤️ Let’s Stay Connected:

• Instagram: @BethFriesenOfficial
• Podcast Hashtag: #IllSayItAnyway
• Website: Click here