Dementia is a life-altering diagnosis for seniors and their family members. The news often comes suddenly, and caregivers don’t have the necessary time to process the information. It’s important to stay optimistic, especially when you’re near your parent. Here are some tips that can help you maintain a positive outlook after your senior loved one has been diagnosed with dementia.
1. Accept Your Best
You need to accept that every day will not be a good day. If you focus too much attention on the bad days, you may miss out the positive moments in life. Even before the dementia diagnosis, every day might not have been good, but you still managed to push on. You’ll need to maintain the same optimism after the diagnosis. Don’t punish yourself when your loved one has a bad day. Accept your best and continue doing everything you can to enhance his or her quality of life.
If you are the primary family caregiver for an elderly loved one and need additional assistance providing high-quality home care, Waterloo Home Care Assistance can help. We are a leading home care agency committed to changing the way seniors age.
2. Educate Yourself
Learning more about dementia can help you alleviate its symptoms and enhance your loved one’s quality of life. In addition to researching, speak with a medical expert who can give you suggestions on how to help your loved one manage the condition. Don’t focus on the statistics. Although statistics are useful when you want to learn more about the condition, these numbers can be stressful.
3. Stay Busy
Being diagnosed with dementia doesn’t mean seniors have to stay inside of the home. By keeping themselves busy, older adults can boost their brain health, trigger memories, and maintain a sense of belonging. Keeping your loved one active gives you the opportunity to socialize as well. Ask others to help out more, or consider using respite care services so you can maintain a positive attitude without compromising your loved one’s care.
In Waterloo, respite care is a great help to many families. Caring for a senior loved one can be overwhelming at times, which puts family caregivers at risk for burnout. However, an in-home caregiver can take over your loved one’s care, allowing you the time you need to focus on your own health, maintain a full-time job, or care for other members of your family.
4. Plan Tasks and Activities Accordingly
There are several steps you can take to slow the progression of dementia and simplify your caregiving duties. For example, scheduling your loved one’s activities at his or her best times of the day allows enough time to complete them. Your loved one is likely to maintain a sense of purpose when he or she is able to do things independently.
5. Attend a Caregiver Support Group
If you’re caring for an aging loved one with dementia, you may encounter a few bad days when you feel emotionally, mentally, and physically overwhelmed. You can stay positive by seeking advice from others in a similar situation, such as the members of a caregiver support group. While attending these meetings, you can receive advice, encouragement, and tips that ease your mind and enhance your mood.
Dementia can be challenging for seniors to manage, but they can maintain a higher quality of life with the help of professional dementia care. Waterloo seniors can benefit greatly from the Cognitive Therapeutics Method (CTM), an activities-based program designed to promote cognitive health and delay the onset of dementia. CTM is included at no additional charge with any of the in-home care plans provided by Home Care Assistance. To learn about CTM and other revolutionary in-home care plans, give us a call at (519) 954-2111 today.