Dementia is a very difficult thing to process for the people who have it and those around them. When a parent or someone important in your life gets it, they’re liable to change before your eyes in ways that are sad, confusing, and hard.
However, dementia affects people differently. There isn’t merely one thing called dementia. However, there are a few general principles you’ll want to follow when helping a loved one who has it.
Let People Retain Control
It’s important to give the person with dementia as much control over their life as possible. They need agency and independence. To support them, surround them with familiar things, like old pictures of family and friends, and build quiet time into their routines.
Try to organize their space so that it’s calm and uncluttered, with labels or colour coding if necessary. Just because they have a changing mental condition does not mean they have to lose all sense of independence.
Remind Them without Judgement
If they forget who you are, simply tell them. It may be emotionally challenging to realize that someone important in your life may struggle to remember who you are, but don’t phrase it like, “Don’t you remember who I am?”
Do not take their cognitive decline personally. They have a condition. It’s not like you have fallen in esteem in their eyes. No matter how their mind changes, they are always the person you’ve loved. Don’t be frustrated or angry with them. Rather, be patient and show them love and support without judgement, even if their decline can be emotional.
Professional Help
Sometimes, dementia can cause mental decline in a way that jeopardizes a person’s safety. Maybe their condition has advanced, and their loved ones simply cannot accommodate their changing needs anymore.
After all, caring for somebody with dementia can be emotionally and mentally draining, not to mention the time it takes. If you need professional care, leading centres like Sagecare offer a warm, supportive environment led by nurses who understand the range of responses people can have to dementia.
Such centres offer a high level of compassionate care for residents they consider family. In such places, dementia is not a burden or even something unusual — it’s the rule, so it’s a normal, everyday part of life.
They understand the condition in all its complexities, how there are different aspects of the “self” trying to all exist under competing pressures. They help residents balance the intellectual and social pressures and expectations, so they have a rich life in a safe environment.
Importantly, they can cater to residents as their conditions change, so they don’t need to be uprooted or ever move to a difference centre.
Caring for people who maybe once cared for you is a tricky proposition on different levels. It’s hard to process emotionally, and it can also drain you of time and energy. Try to keep the above tips in mind to offer more support to your loved ones, but if it ever gets to be too much, consider finding professional assistance.