Navigating the Toughest Moments: Tips for Handling Dementia Behaviour with Love

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia can be really tough. The behaviour and personality changes can be so challenging to navigate. Aggressiveness, hallucinations, wandering, and struggles with eating or sleeping can really take a toll. Remember, you're not alone in this journey as a caregiver.

Just a little reminder that if you're facing challenges, the person with dementia isn't trying to be difficult on purpose. Let's spread some understanding and compassion. Sometimes, the struggles our loved one’s face can be amplified by their surroundings, their challenges with stress, or their efforts to express themselves.

Just a few simple changes can make a world of difference. Help your loved one find relief from stress, manage their symptoms better, and boost overall well-being. Plus, it’ll totally enhance your caregiving journey too! Understanding the root of your patient's stress is key to addressing their behaviour. Let's dive deep into what might be triggering their discomfort.

When figuring out the causes, keep in mind that someone with dementia really picks up on your facial expressions, tone, and body language way more than the actual words you say. Remember to connect with your eyes, flash that beautiful smile, and use a gentle touch to share your message and spread some love. Instead of letting those tricky moments get to you, keep that sense of humour shining bright.

Essential Strategies for Navigating Dementia-Related Behavioural Challenges

The following seven tips can help you create a soothing environment for your loved one with dementia, ease their stress, improve their eating and sleep habits, and deal with common behaviour issues such as wandering, hallucinations, and aggressiveness.

1. Create a calm environment

The space and mood you make while caring for someone with Alzheimer's or dementia can help them feel safe and calm.

Change up the environment to help cut down on stressors that might lead to feelings of agitation and confusion. These things can be loud or hard to identify, have shadowy lighting, involve mirrors or other reflective surfaces, feature bright colours, and come with patterned wallpaper.

Keep your cool inside. Feeling anxious or upset when dealing with problem behaviour can actually raise the patient’s stress levels. Focus on the feelings behind the actions, rather than just the actions themselves. Just keep it flexible, stay patient, and try to relax. If you start feeling anxious or like things are getting a bit overwhelming, it’s a good idea to take a break and chill for a bit.

Effective Strategies for Reducing Stress in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care

• Experiment with several stress-reduction approaches to determine the most effective ones for Alzheimer's sufferers.

• Exercise serves as a stress-reliever for both Alzheimer's patients and caregivers. Walking, dancing, or sitting activities help reduce anger, wandering, and sleeplessness. Inside shopping malls are enormous, weatherproof walking areas.

• Simple activities can help your loved one remember their past. Someone who enjoyed cooking may still love cleaning veggies for dinner. Include your loved one in as many daily activities as possible. Folding laundry, watering plants, or driving in the country helps reduce stress.

• Recalling prior events can help calm and comfort your loved one. Even if they can't remember what happened minutes ago, they may remember decades ago. Ask generic queries about their distant past.

• Play relaxing music or your loved one's favorite to soothe them during agitation. Music therapy can also assist Alzheimer's patients relax during meals and baths.

• Connecting with others remains crucial. Spending time with diverse people one-on-one can help Alzheimer's and dementia patients enhance physical and social activity and reduce stress.

• Pets may communicate positively nonverbally. A well-trained, docile animal may calm your loved one and reduce aggression with its pleasant interaction and soothing touch. For individuals without pets, specific groups offer pet visits for Alzheimer's or dementia patients.

  
  

Take time to really connect with the person you’re caring for

• Connecting with loved ones on a daily basis can increase mood and reduce stress levels. It can also have a similar effect on you. Even if your loved one is no longer able to communicate vocally, it is critical that you devote some time when you are at your most peaceful to totally focus on them.

  
  

• Make eye contact, grasp their hand or brush their cheek, and speak calmly and reassuringly. Avoid distractions like TV or phone. When you interact in this way, you will both benefit from a process that reduces stress and promotes well-being.

2. Deal with wandering

Restlessness and feeling disoriented are two common symptoms that come before wandering. A person with Alzheimer's may act restless when they are hungry, thirsty, having trouble going to the bathroom, or in pain. They may also get lost, pace, or wander when they are bored, nervous, or stressed because they don't have enough exercise or are in an uncomfortable place. In addition to getting your loved one to move around more every day, you can:

• Turn pacing or other signs of restlessness into useful activity or exercise right away

• If the person seems lost, reassure them.

• Do something else with the person during the time of day when they are most likely to walk off.

• Lower the amount of noise and misunderstanding. Close the blinds, turn off the TV or radio, or move the patient to a quieter place.

• Talk to your doctor because feeling lost can also be caused by side effects, drug combinations, or taking too many medications.

Practical ways to prevent wandering

• Put in child-safety locks on your doors and windows to keep them out.

• Hide things that your loved one would always want if they left the house, like bags, shoes, or glasses.

• Get chairs that are comfy but don't let you move around easily. This will make it hard for the patient to stand up without help.

• Use safety tools like alarms and monitors. Bed and chair alarms will let you know if your family member gets up to go outside. Pressure-activated floor mats and passive infrared (PIR) sensors both do the same thing, which is to let you direct the person before they go too far.

Planning for when your loved one does wander

It's smart to have a plan ready in case your loved one gets lost.

• Have a medical alert system with you. Some models have technology that can track your loved one's location and let them call for help in an emergency. This can help a lot if your loved one gets lost or walks off in a place they aren't used to.

•  Let your loved one's neighbours and the cops know that they tend to wander off, and give them your phone number.

• Make sure your loved one wears an ID band or tags on their clothes.

• Maintain a recent photo of your loved one and unwashed clothing for search-and-rescue dogs in case of a police search. (Using gloved hands, place clothing in a plastic bag and replace it once a month.)

How to find a missing Alzheimer’s patient

•  A person with dementia may not call out for help or answer your calls, even when trapped somewhere, leaving them at risk for dehydration and hypothermia.

• Check dangerous areas near the home, such as bodies of water, dense foliage, tunnels, bus stops, and high balconies.

• Look within a one kilometre radius of where the patient was before wandering.

• Look within one hundred feet of a road, as most wanderers start out on roads and remain close by. Especially look carefully into bushes and ditches, as your loved one may have fallen or become trapped.

• Search in the direction of the wanderer’s dominant hand. People usually travel first in their dominant direction.

• Investigate familiar places, such as former residences or favorite spots. Often, wandering has a particular destination.

3.     Cope with rummaging and hiding things

It can be hard to take care of a patient who digs or hides things in the house, but it's not impossible.

Rummaging/hiding things behaviour management

Protecting property

• Lock certain rooms or cabinets to protect their contents, and lock up all valuables.

• Have mail delivered out of reach of your loved one—perhaps to your office.

• If items do disappear, learn the person’s preferred hiding places.

• Restrict access to trashcans, and check all wastebaskets before disposing of their contents in case objects have been hidden there.

  
  

  Protecting your loved one from harm

  
  

• Prevent access to unsafe substances, such as cleaning products, alcohol, firearms, power tools, sharp knives, and medications.

• Block unused electrical outlets with childproofing devices. Hide stove knobs so the person can’t turn on the burners.

• Lower the temperature on water heaters.

• Designate a special drawer of items that the person can safely “play” with when keen to rummage.

4.     Calm anger and aggression

Creating a calm environment can really help with managing stress that often leads to aggressive behaviour, but there are also some things you can try during an angry outburst.

ü  It's best not to confront the person or bring up their angry behaviour. Keep in mind that someone with dementia isn't able to think about their behaviour in a way that helps them change it or control it.

ü  Try to avoid any physical contact during the outburst. This could lead to some physical violence.

ü  Allow the person to express their aggression. Let them have some time to feel their anger on their own. Make sure you both stay safe, okay?

ü  How about we steer the conversation towards something more enjoyable?

ü  Keep an eye out for any patterns in the aggression. Think about things like privacy, independence, feeling bored, dealing with pain, or just being tired. Try to steer clear of things that might upset your loved one.

ü  It's a good idea to seek support from others during those activities that tend to frustrate the patient and can't be skipped.

ü  Try not to take the aggressiveness to heart. That's just part of the dementia, too.

5.     Dealing with hallucinations and suspicion

Sometimes, hallucinations can happen because your loved one’s senses are starting to decline. Keeping things calm around them can really help lessen how often these things happen. But if they do experience hallucinations or illusions, it's best not to get into a debate about what's real and what's not. Try to engage with the feelings behind what the person is expressing. If someone you care about is feeling scared, just be there to offer some comfort. Maybe you could try to distract your loved one with something else or just head to another room for a change of scenery.

Alzheimer’s and suspicion/paranoia

Confusion and the loss of memory can cause Alzheimer’s patients to become suspicious of those around them, sometimes accusing their caretakers of theft, betrayal, or some other improper behaviour. Violent movies or television can also contribute to paranoia.

• Offer a simple answer to any accusations, but don’t argue or try to convince them their suspicions are unfounded.

• Distract the patient with another activity, such as going for a walk.

• If suspicions of theft are focused on a particular object that is frequently mislaid, such as a wallet, try keeping a duplicate item on hand to quickly allay the patient’s fears.

6.     Handling sleep problems

Brain disease can really mess with how we sleep and wake up. People with Alzheimer’s might experience wakefulness, disorientation, and confusion starting around dusk and lasting through the night. So, this is what they call “sundowning.”

Sundowning has two sides to it. So, you know, feeling confused, overstimulated, and tired during the day can really lead to some restlessness when night rolls around. Also, some people with Alzheimer’s might start to feel scared of the dark. This could be due to the absence of the usual daytime sounds and hustle and bustle they’re used to. The patient might look for some comfort and safety at night to help ease this discomfort.

Tips to reduce nighttime restlessness

• Improve sleep hygiene. Provide a comfortable bed, reduce noise and light, and play soothing music to help your loved one get to sleep. If they prefer to sleep in a chair or on the couch, make sure they can’t fall out while sleeping.

• Keep a regular sleep schedule. Be consistent with the time for sleeping and keep the nighttime routine the same. For example, give the person a bath and some warm milk before bed.

• Keep a night light on. Some people with dementia imagine things in the dark and become upset. Stuffed animals or a pet may also help soothe the patient and allow them to sleep.

• Place a commode next to the bed. Walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night may wake the person up too much and then make it difficult to get back to sleep.

• Increase physical activity during the day to help your loved one feel more tired at bedtime.

• Monitor napping. If the person seems very fatigued during the day, a short rest in the afternoon can lead to a better night’s sleep. But keep naps short.

• Limit the patient’s caffeine, sugar, and junk food intake during the day.

  
  

• Dealing with nighttime wakefulness and pacing

  
  

• If your loved one paces at night, make sure they have a safe room in which to do so, or have another caregiver take over at night. You need your rest, too. In the later stages of Alzheimer’s, you may want to consider a hospital bed with guardrails.

• Some dementia patients have difficulty getting or staying asleep because they aren’t responding to day and night transitions. Adding bright light exposure during the day and melatonin supplements at night may help to improve their sleeping patterns.

  
  

7.     Deal with eating problems

• Ensuring someone with Alzheimer’s eats and drinks enough can be a challenge for any caregiver. As well as encouraging exercise to make your loved one feel hungrier and thirstier, try these tips:

  
  

• Monitor medications. Some medications interfere with appetite. Others may cause dry mouth, so make sure that your loved one gets enough liquids with food. Discuss eating problems with their doctor to see if any medication needs to change.

  
  

• Make mealtimes pleasing to your loved one. Add flowers to the table or play soothing music. Make your loved one’s favorite food and serve it on dishes that contrast highly with the food colors. Reduce distractions in the eating area and avoid foods that are too hot or too cold.

  
  

• Make feeding playful, fun, and simple. Try giving your loved small spoonfuls and singing funny rhymes. When they open their mouth to smile, slip in a little food. People with dementia may have trouble using normal utensils, so opt for finger foods or use children’s sipper cups.

  
  

• Monitor chewing and swallowing. Chewing and swallowing difficulties can develop as Alzheimer’s progresses. If necessary, give your loved one instructions on when to chew and when to swallow. After eating, keep them upright for 30 minutes to avoid choking.

  
  

• Transition to puréed or soft foods. In the later stages of Alzheimer’s, your loved one may no longer be able to swallow solid food. Switch to a liquids-only diet when the time is right.

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia is undeniably challenging, but it is also a journey filled with moments of connection, compassion, and learning. As you navigate the complexities of behavioral changes, remember that every small effort you make to improve their environment, ease their discomfort, or connect with them on a deeper level can create a meaningful difference. Patience, understanding, and kindness are your greatest allies in this journey, and by embracing these, you not only help your loved one but also ensure your own well-being as a caregiver. Every day is an opportunity to make life a little easier, a little more peaceful, and a lot more filled with love.