Caring for people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia is both stressful and sensitive.
However, you are not alone in this journey.
Hundreds of people in the United States take care of their family members who have these mental disorders, and they claim that this journey is too emotional for them to handle on their own.
Almost all Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients experience exhaustion, loneliness, sadness, and anxiety. Hence, as the family caregiver, you should understand where these emotions are coming from and treat them accordingly.
You can choose not to seek the help of companies offering local professional dementia care services and take the burden all on yourself.
So, we have decided to help you.
How Can Family Caregivers Take Care Of Alzheimer’s And Dementia Patients?
Being a family caregiver is a strenuous job, and no matter whom you are catering to, there are always some ways that will make you better at what you do.
Let’s find the ways to treat Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients at home:
1: Accept The Disease
You may not know how to take care of your loved ones if you don’t accept the fact that the person you love is ill.
People often tend to believe that Alzheimer’s and Dementia are not as intense mental health issues as they seem to be.
So, first, you must accept the diagnosis, and only then can you proceed to the ‘taking care’ part.
2: Manage Conflicting Emotions
Feelings of anger, frustration, paranoia, sadness, anxiety, and depression are common in people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
You may also feel these emotions if you take care of the patient, which is why you need to manage these.
You can seek professional help in this regard.
They will guide you in saying the right words that can help calm the person. You can also get in touch with local support groups and ask for their advice, counseling, support, training to do this right.
3: Maintain A Familiar Structure
Now you have to work with the resources you have, which is why it is essential to maintain a familiar structure in your home so that the patient can remember them.
For example, if your patient’s room has the table on the right side and the light on the left side, keep them as they are. It will help the person remember that he is in his room, which will preserve his sanity.
You can be as consistent as possible concerning his breakfast, lunch and dinner times, visitor times, hobbies times, bathing times, etc.
Thus, you will ensure that the person you are taking care of is capable of cooperating with you.
4: Involve Them In Outdoor Activities
Spending time in nature is always a good idea. However, if your patient has Alzheimer’s or Dementia, outdoor activities can have a much bigger therapeutic impact.
You can also try stimulating their senses by telling them stories, watching movies with them, singing songs, dancing, walking, painting, exercising, etc.
There are some group activities that are designed exclusively for people with these diseases so that you can seek help from those professionals as well.
5: Introduce Them To Visitors At The Right Time
If an Alzheimer’s patient receives too much information in a short span of time, things will be overwhelming for her.
We understand that there are people who want to visit your old grandmom suffering from dementia. We are not asking you to reject their request.
We are simply saying that introducing them to visitors at the right time can help control their emotions.
For example, you can plan the meeting at a social event where there are other people for the patient to focus on, and remembering the known faces in a crowd becomes easier.
Do The Right Thing!
Now we cannot lecture you on what’s best for your Alzheimer’s patient and what’s not.
But, we can assure you that if you have decided to take care of them on your own, you are doing the right thing.
These patients have the best chances of recovering or getting their memory back when they are with their loved ones, which is why keeping them in the hospital is not what we’d recommend.
So, if you need more details on this, let us know in the comment section.
