Providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia can make you feel fulfilled. It can also make you feel tired, mentally drained, frustrated and hopeless. As much as you love and adore the person, it’s a TOUGH job. Practice these seven tips to make supporting your loved one less stressful and more pleasant.
- Maintain a calm, positive environment. Loud voices and music will disrupt the patient’s mental state and agitate them. Once this happens, it can take hours to soothe them. Keep noise and activity to a minimum. Play TVs and music at a low volume, speak softly, and ask that there not be too many visitors at a time.
- Break tasks into small, manageable steps. For a person suffering from dementia, daily chores like getting cleaned up or going to the doctor can seem overwhelming. Split larger tasks into small parts. For example, showering and dressing could be split into brushing your teeth, removing your clothes, showering, toweling off, dressing, etc. Smaller chunks of chores are more digestible to a patient’s mind and will cause them less stress.
- Validate your loved one’s feelings. Don’t argue about a dementia patient’s inaccurate accounts of past events. Instead, compassionately acknowledge them when they feel sad, confused or uncomfortable.
- Reminisce frequently. Memories from 50 years ago may be easier for a patient to recall than what they ate for breakfast. Discussing “old times,” sharing past stories, and looking at old photos can give them a sense of comfort and ease.
- Establish a routine. Many Alzheimer’s and dementia patients thrive on a daily routine. Set specific times for grooming, meals, chores, crafts, telephone calls, and other pastimes. Keep the patient’s environment as unchanged as possible. Consistency is a source of comfort to them and can keep them calm and feeling secure.
- Prioritize safety. Proactively address things that could cause the patient to hurt themselves. Hide the car keys, keep exterior doors locked, remove rugs and other tripping hazards, and install child locks on cabinets and drawers that contain cleaning chemicals or medicine.
- Recognize when it’s time for memory care support. No matter how determined loved ones are to keep the patient at home, increasing health needs may make specialized memory care the best option. When is it the right time? It’s time for memory care when daily tasks with the patient become almost impossible to manage, their behavior gets worse, or they start to wander or do other things that risk their safety.
Supporting Your Loved One May Include Desert Diamond Memory Pavilion
Lovingly caring for an Alzheimer’s or dementia patient is a great responsibility. Taking proactive steps to ensure they’re in a safe, calm environment with consistent, empathetic care is essential. Reach out to Desert Diamond Memory Pavilion for more information about the Montessori Inspired Lifestyle we can provide for your loved one.