People with a family member diagnosed with Alzheimer’s might feel embarrassed to discuss their plight openly. Speak gently with your loved ones about moving to memory care, and let them gradually open up to you in their own time. Inform them that you are there to help them without being loud or intrusive. Here are some ways to calm your parent’s anger caused by dementia.
Acknowledge That You Are Experiencing a Large Spectrum of Emotions
Breaking the news of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis or the deterioration it leads to can cause you to go through a range of emotions: denial, anger, humiliation, anguish, panic, guilt, or sorrow. Such feelings are common or regular with caregivers and might ebb and flow. Occasionally caregivers grow depressed. Consult your doctor when your emotions overwhelm you and persistently nag at you.
Read About Alzheimer’s Disease or Alternate Dementia
Read all you can about Alzheimer’s disease and provide the best care. Study how Alzheimer’s disease may affect your parent, what symptoms you may anticipate, or ways you can offer supervision and assistance to enable independent living or maintain a quality life. Share the diagnoses with those close to patients, like relatives, colleagues, and friends; this will raise their awareness. Contact your local Alzheimer’s Society for relevant resources or information.
Acknowledge That Alzheimer’s Disease Impedes the Patient’s Capacities
Alzheimer’s disease advances with time. It eventually affects how patients function from day to day. Read about symptoms that the illness might cause so that you can set realistic expectations about the patient’s abilities. Ask the patient how you might assist him in functioning independently while maintaining some semblance of control. Some advice often expressed by caregivers is that you need to become more patient, though this does not come easily.
Do Not Lose Sight of Each Individual
Regardless of how Alzheimer’s disease affects the patient, you must still treat the Alzheimer’s patient with empathy or respect their dignity. While some abilities will gradually vanish, the Alzheimer’s patient’s moods will stay. Along with the need for belonging or company. Organize events and activities that help to give them joyful or tranquil emotions. Concentrate on nurturing the abilities that remain. This dramatically improves Alzheimer’s patients’ quality of life and helps maintain a sense of identity.
Explore Treatment Alternatives
Presently, there are no cures available for Alzheimer’s disease. However, medications may ease some of the symptoms for certain patients. Discuss medication benefits or risks with the physician. Also, your local Alzheimer’s Society might have up-to-date information about the latest treatments that can be accessed with drug trials. You could be asked for assistance if the patient participates in such studies.
Ask For Help
Contact your local Alzheimer’s Society to clarify the kind of help available in your town. Community agencies might provide practical assistance, including help with caregiving or household tasks. You could also have a community of friends or kin willing to offer service.
Coping With Being Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
When someone has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, the news can prove distressing for the patient and those who care about him. You have likely been worried about the changes you have observed in him, harbored suspicions about the patient getting diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and might feel uncertain about the patient’s future. However, the first move has been made: getting diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. If you are the primary caregiver or close kin, some actions can make life slightly more accessible. Find doctors you can relate with to share your concerns.
Memory Care Communities
Once dementia patients reach the point that they cannot further function independently and the memory care that a daycare offers, memory care communities provide full-time nursing treatment.
