{"id":33346,"date":"2021-04-13T13:59:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T13:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/choicehome.flywheelsites.com\/the-dos-and-donts-in-caring-for-a-family-member-with-alzheimers-disease\/"},"modified":"2024-07-29T16:50:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T16:50:25","slug":"the-dos-and-donts-in-caring-for-a-family-member-with-alzheimers-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/the-dos-and-donts-in-caring-for-a-family-member-with-alzheimers-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dos and Don\u2019ts in Caring for a Family Member with Alzheimer\u2019s Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Living with a loved one with Alzheimer\u2019s is difficult! Caring for them, however, is even more complicated \u2013 especially without sufficient expertise or help. Alzheimer\u2019s is a degenerative illness that progressively takes something away as the disease takes its toll over time. Therefore, we need to be mindful, respectful, and considerate of what the individual is going through.<\/p>\n

Today, let\u2019s outline some of what you should and shouldn\u2019t do when looking after someone with Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

What You Should Do<\/h2>\n

Enable Independence Wherever\/Whenever Sensible<\/h4>\n

If a loved one can handle basic tasks such as gardening, light housekeeping, and even light cooking, let them. You can still monitor from a distance or, even better, do it with them. Being able to contribute and participating in regular activities encourages self-worth and a sense of accomplishment. Let them enjoy these moments of independence while they are still able to accomplish them on their own. What\u2019s more, enjoy these moments with your loved one and make some more happy memories to cherish.<\/p>\n

Ensure your Loved One Feels Their Voice is Heard<\/h4>\n

If someone with Alzheimer\u2019s under your care requests assistance, give it. If they reach out to you, it means that they need you. They appreciate your presence and are comforted by it. Harness this positive energy and be responsive, clear, and friendly if they speak to you. It\u2019s imperative that the individual being looked after feels listened to and heard; otherwise, they may feel hurt, frustrated, and discouraged, possibly becoming agitated or withdrawn.<\/p>\n

Take Their Interests and Passions into Account<\/h4>\n

If your loved one enjoys a particular hobby\u2014birdwatching, classic movies, gardening, walking, or drawing\u2014embrace it and encourage them to partake in activities. More importantly, participate in it alongside them \u2013 it\u2019s a great chance to understand their emotions, current symptoms, and how they feel, not to mention an opportunity to chat with them and make more memories.<\/p>\n

Keep Them in a Positive, Preoccupied Mindset<\/h4>\n

If they made a mistake, it\u2019s best to laugh it off with the individual receiving care. The key to healthy, effective Alzheimer\u2019s patient care is the approach \u2013 join into their reality with a positive and gentle demeanor, and you\u2019ll notice the difference! This is a great chance to encourage them to smile, laugh, and make the most of each day, and that should be all they need to worry about. Keeping them busy and entertained, such as with painting, taking a walk, or comforting music that resurrects old memories, is also a good strategy.<\/p>\n

What Not to Do<\/h2>\n

Confuse the Disease with the Person<\/h4>\n

Remember this is a disease within the brain that can cause the person to behave irrationally. Sometimes we forget that and succumb to negative emotional reactions, sometimes even spite. Judging or cutting down someone with Alzheimer\u2019s only suppresses their willingness to express their needs for you. It makes them feel belittled, insignificant, and like a burden. A fragile frame of mind can be deeply hurt by negative reactions to their behaviours.<\/p>\n

Get Angry<\/h4>\n

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer\u2019s can get frustrating! It\u2019s easy to say, don\u2019t get angry, it\u2019s not their fault, but it will happen, and you will get angry. We are all human and anger is a normal emotion when we just cannot handle it anymore. When you feel yourself getting to this point, take a break, go for a walk, call for someone to stay with your loved one while you take some time for yourself. If you are not in the frame of mind to care for your loved one, you and your loved one will suffer for it.<\/p>\n

Express Annoyance or Impatience<\/h4>\n

Caregiving is tiring but worth it. The loved one we look after may not be able to perform basic functions on their own after the disease gets to a certain point. Therefore, if we get irritated at seemingly mundane tasks such as helping them get dressed or go to the bathroom, we convey to them that we aren\u2019t willing to help. The last thing a loved one with Alzheimer\u2019s should feel is being a burden.<\/p>\n

Correct mistakes<\/h4>\n

One of the worst things we can do is correct someone with Alzheimer\u2019s when, at the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t really make a difference. A person with Alzheimer\u2019s disease may have perceptions that do not make sense to our reality but it\u2019s real to them. Correcting will only bring frustration and further arguments. The key is to enter the person\u2019s reality without correction or judgment.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples: Your loved one tells you they saw their mother last night; our first reaction is to try and set them straight and remind them that their mother died 40 years ago. This usually leads to the loved one reliving past painful memories. Instead, say, \u201cOh, I hope she is doing well,\u201d and move on to a different topic.<\/p>\n

If your loved one says the sky is purple, say, \u201cYes, it is such a lovely day outside today.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are times when we may need to correct but try and do it in a way that lets the person know that what they feel or experience is important to us.<\/p>\n

Caring for someone with Alzheimer\u2019s is a brave, significant, and compassionate undertaking. Never doubt that you\u2019re essential and appreciated in their life.\u00a0Cherish the time you have together and do incredible things together while managing their daily requirements.<\/p>\n

If you require expert assistance or temporary relief, our team at Choice Homecare Ottawa is just a phone call or email away. Contact us to book a free assessment, find out more details about how we can help, or simply for some friendly advice from one of our nurses who understands what you\u2019re going through!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living with a loved one with Alzheimer\u2019s is difficult! Caring for them, however, is even more complicated \u2013 especially without sufficient expertise or help. Alzheimer\u2019s is a degenerative illness that progressively takes something away as the disease takes its toll over time. Today, let\u2019s outline some of what you should and shouldn\u2019t do when looking after someone with Alzheimer\u2019s disease.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alzheimer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33346"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34137,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33346\/revisions\/34137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}