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Behavioral Changes To Expect From A Loved One With Dementia

21 November 2017 by Clifford Ramos

Many people want to remain in their own homes as they age. While continuing to live in surroundings that one is familiar with can be beneficial for the aging individual, his or her caretakers must be prepared to cope with the challenges that are associated with home health care.

Since a lot of older people experience dementia, it's important that you know what types of behavioral changes you can expect from your aging loved one while caring for him or her at home.

1. Your loved one may become more anxious.

Dementia can often cause a person to feel as though he or she is losing control. This loss of control is often accompanied by an outward display of anxiety. Since your aging loved one may not be able to communicate the cause of his or her anxiety due to advancing dementia, it can be beneficial to track anxious episodes.

Record the time of day and the environmental conditions associated with an anxious outburst. Keeping a record will help you identify triggers that cause your loved one to feel anxious so that you can eliminate these triggers to make aging at home more comfortable for both you and your loved one.

2. Your loved one could become suspicious.

As your loved one's dementia advances, he or she may have trouble remembering where certain items have been placed. This forgetfulness could cause the individual to become suspicious that someone in their home is moving or taking these items. Since caregivers are the ones who spend a lot of time with aging individuals, they can become the target of suspicion.

To avoid the contention that can be associated with your loved one's suspicious behavior, track items that he or she complains about missing. Invest in duplicates of these items to have in various rooms of the home so that your loved one will easily be able to find them when the need arises.

3. Your loved one could start repeating actions.

Most people have a daily routine that they have followed for years. While this routine might be second nature, it can be challenging for someone with dementia to remember completing the individual actions in their daily routine.

This leads to repetitive behavior where the person engages in the same action multiple times. If you are caring for a loved one who is showing signs of repetition, be sure to create a chart or other tracking mechanism that will help your loved one better remember the daily tasks he or she has already completed.

Providing home health care for a loved one with dementia can be challenging. Being prepared for behavioral changes like increased anxiety, suspicion, and repetition will help you better cope with your caregiver duties in the future.

Visit a site like http://www.inyourhomecares.com/ for more help.

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