You’re Not Alone: Realistic Tips for Caring for Someone with Dementia

You’ve known your loved one your whole life. But sometimes, dementia can make them feel like a completely different person. As a caregiver, it isn’t just the disease that’s exhausting. It’s the emotional toll and wreckage that gets dragged along with it. Caring for someone with dementia is by turns frustrating and heartbreaking, but there are ways to make it easier. Here are a few tips to help caregivers handle dementia with love and realism. Understand It’s More than Memory Loss The first thing to remember about dementia is that it’s so much more complicated than simply memory loss. Memory loss is one of the classic signs of dementia , but it’s hardly the only symptom to watch for. In fact, certain forms of dementia don’t manifest as memory loss – especially if your loved one doesn’t actually have Alzheimer’s disease. There are many less-known forms of dementia. Frontotemporal dementia , for example, is a form of dementia in which neurons in the front and side of the brain begin to die, causing the lobes to shrink. This can result in a number of changes as the disease progresses, from difficulty planning activities and handling daily tasks such as cooking, struggling to concentrate or get motivated, and personality changes. The exact changes depend on where the damage to your brain begins. And because it doesn’t look like familiar forms of dementia, FTD is often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia, depression, or Parkinson’s disease. Even if your loved one has Alzheimer’s, it’s important to remember that they’re experiencing a neurological decline, and that will affect them in ways beyond memory loss. Your calm, rational mother may experience hallucinations or your gentlemanly grandfather may curse like a sailor. It’s Not Worth It to Argue Regardless of the type of dementia, it’s important to […]

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