What to Do When Your Senior is Suffering From Dementia
Providing love and care not only gives the patients suffering from dementia an assurance of being taken care of, but also provides peace of mind to their family. This enables the family members to spend more time to make memories with their loved ones in their final chapter of life. However, it is not at all easy to give proper care when your loved one is diagnosed with dementia. In dementia, resisting care and stubbornness are classic behaviors of the seniors- and these situations frequently get family members into hot water. Companion care at home can be an excellent survival tool for your senior and their family deal with the difficulties of dementia.
Communicating with your loved ones:
It is very important when handling a dementia patient to communicate in there way- not your way. There are several techniques for that which are discussed below.
Do not get involved in physical or verbal disagreements: Do not push, nag or yell at your loved ones, even though they are not in a logical state. It will only make things worse. Arguing can actually damage your relationship with your loved ones.
Consider preferences: Always try to be considerate about the choices of your loved ones and try to minimize the denying the agency of the patient whenever possible.
Communicate in simple terms: Try to ask simple questions and make simple statements. In dementia it is normal to lose your ability for verbal comprehension. So, keeping communication to small sentences and simple questions can make thing easier for your loved ones.
Focus on positives: As much as possible try to have positive conversations with your loved ones, so that the confidence of your senior can be maintained.
Listen: When your loved ones start talking then let them complete their thought, rather than interrupting them. Listening to the patients can be really helpful to ease their stress.
Empathetic behavior: Always act empathetically towards the patients. This will bond a new bond of trust and faith.
Consider companion care at home: Hiring professionals like companion care at home is a part of the process for the betterment of the situation for the patient- and for the family too.
Conclusion: What to Do When Your Senior is Suffering From Dementia
It is very natural that a senior would feel most comfortable around their family and known caregivers. They even feel safe in a familiar environment that leads them to express every side of themselves – including frustrations. But in case of dementia, sometimes adverse situations are also likely to occur due to the extreme difficulty of the disease. Behavioral disorder is a very common phenomena in these cases.
Companion care at home can make a difference for you and your loved ones both. Your senior may be frustrated and clinically ill, but loss of their independence and restrictions of their day to day routine can make them fragile on the inside- which requires healing too. Companion care at home can help resolve these issues and give your senior the help and independence they need while dealing with a difficult disease. Call us today and see how companion care at home can help you today!
Sources:
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/special-issues/seniors/dealing-dementia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032087/
If you or an aging loved one is considering companion care at home in Orinda, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.