Having your parent with Alzheimer’s disease living with you in the house alters your life gradually and progressively. This change seldom begins with any specific event; rather, it begins with some minor alterations such as forgotten words and repetitive queries and changes in personality that gradually place more demands on you.
Something else you can try doing for your patient/client is giving him or her routine. Though structure cannot necessarily make the situation better, it may be helpful since at this point, your client might feel uncertain because of memory lapses.
Getting up at a certain time, eating meals at a definite schedule, and ending your day with the same process every night would help your patient/client feel better while simultaneously reducing your efforts in deciding what to do next.
Another thing that you need to adjust is your home. But that doesn’t mean you have to turn your house into a medical institution where everything is sterile and clinical. Making your home uncluttered, with adequate lighting and easy navigation helps with accomplishing the task.
Communication and assistance
Communication becomes one of the most critical elements of our everyday activities. Conversations will no longer go the way they used to and may be challenging in terms of emotions. Short and simple sentences should replace any long explanations. Most importantly, your tone plays an enormous role.
Consistency and calmness convey your intentions better than any word. Some conversations may include repetitions and misunderstandings, and in such cases, patience would do more good than any corrections.
Sometimes, it could be useful to move away from “being right.” Corrections are likely to cause frustration for both parties involved. Instead, being emotionally ready and responding to emotions of your loved one should bring less tension. If they are scared or sad, talking to their feelings would probably be easier than proving something to them.
With time, new symptoms will start to appear. Changes in your parent’s behavior can include agitation, anxiety, irritability, aggression, and isolation. All of those are caused by the changes in brain activity and do not represent your loved one’s actions or intentions.
Such symptoms may be the result of something being wrong with their physical or emotional state: noise, tiredness, hunger, or stress. Slow down and try to
Safety would likely become a bigger concern as well. Even small things, like reducing the number of potential trip hazards around the house, installing better lighting or adjusting bathroom furniture, could be done in order to increase the overall safety level. As a rule, such changes will be gradual and implemented in response to emerging needs.
In addition, meals and hydration may become a challenge without you realizing it. The parent’s appetite can be affected by the health condition, and mealtimes may take up more effort than before. Therefore, providing some healthy and convenient meals to your parent and encouraging them to hydrate is a good strategy to keep them healthy and happy.
However, in the course of taking care of the parent, you might start neglecting yourself and your wellbeing. Being responsible for the health and wellbeing of another person implies certain emotional strain, which gradually accumulates throughout time. Inevitably, you may feel the whole range of emotions like love, sadness, frustration, and even guilt all during one day. However, there are no ideal ways of feeling. All it takes is not suppressing the emotions but expressing them in a healthy way.
Going forward in conclusion
Outside support can help you too. From local agencies, from support groups, or just taking some time off, there is always help that is supposed to make your burden lighter and not take your place. The earlier you accept it, the easier you will find your job in the future.
And through all of it, one of the greatest gifts might be found in simple moments. Listening to their favorite song, having a little chat, holding hands at peace time all those moments will stay no matter what. The disease will change a lot of things in their experience, but it won’t break the bond between you.
It won’t be easy to care about your loved one. It will ask for patience when you are feeling too tired, acceptance in difficult situations, and empathy for both of you. This path doesn’t have any ready-made recipes – only your attempts to live it day by day.
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