If your loved ones live with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other memory loss-related illnesses, you may sometimes encounter situations where your loved ones are confused and overwhelmed. This is actually extremely common among older adults with dementia due to the decline in cognitive health, leading to an increased likelihood in negative feelings to arise. As your loved ones may have the tendency to forget their family members and friends, the place they live, and the words to speak, it’s normal for them to feel bouts of confusion every once in a while. As such issues can pose hazards for both your loved ones and yourself, it’s important to be in control of the situation. Here are some ways you can cope confusion in dementia patients.
Make Sure Loved Ones Follow a Familiar Routine
Having a standard daily routine can greatly prevent loved ones from getting confused as they know what to look forward to throughout the day. Whether it’s bathing and grooming needs or taking medications, your loved ones have various tasks and responsibilities to attend to each day. By planning a schedule early on, your loved ones can simply refer to this routine in order to feel comfortable of what’s to come. It also helps in your end as you can be more organized to provide the best care and comfort for loved ones.
Create a Soothing Environment
It’s highly recommended for loved ones with dementia to avoid being in places where it’s noisy and bustling with activities. This goes for environments where tension is high and the crowd is irritated. Loved ones do reflect feelings from people around them, so in order for them to have peace of mind, loved ones should be in a quiet space. Loud talking, unfamiliar faces, and a ton of commotion can easily over-stimulate loved ones with dementia, causing them to be more confused over time. As such, you can set a soothing environment by playing soft music, placing comfort objects like blankets and pillows around the room, and dimming the lights.
Validate their Emotions
Regardless of one’s age, we should treat everyone with respect and dignity. If your loved ones have raised a concern, do not brush off their feelings and try to understand their emotions. It’s impossible to empathize with them as confusion can cause your loved ones to feel alienated from society. To respond to a loved one, you should always start off by reassuring them and putting their minds at ease. You can achieved this by providing comfort and reasoning with them. We recommend doing this while your loved ones are in a safe and calming environment. Afterwards, you can either distract them by keeping their minds off any confusion.
Request Help From Medical Personnel
If all else fails, there’s no better person with the appropriate experience and knowledge to manage confusion in dementia patients than medical personnel. Be it a doctor, professional nurse or caregiver, medical personnel can provide the necessary instructions and advice on how to manage such situations. In more severe case, they can also prescribe medications if required.
