Does your elderly loved one have a dementia diagnosis? If so, you are going to notice they have changes to their personality. Sometimes, these changes are subtle. However, over time, they will become more prevalent and noticeable. Knowing this, there are some tips that can help you to better handle the changes.
Before diving into this guide, keep in mind that you don’t have to deal with the dementia-related personality changes in your elderly loved one on your own. You can reach out to in-home care providers for help. They can take care of your elderly loved one on the days or hours when you can’t or when you need a break.
Are Your Elderly Loved One’s Needs Being Met?
One of the primary causes for personality changes in the elderly are needs that weren’t met. What does this mean for your elderly loved one? Well, it could be a range of things. Some of the needs that you may want to check in on with your elderly loved one include:
- Thirst and/or hunger
- Psychological needs (treatments for depression, anxiety, etc.)
- Emotional needs (needing companionship, more happiness, etc.)
- Social structure changes (need to have more visitors or maybe having too many visitors currently)
- Pain (possibly not taking medications or needing treatments for chronic pain)
- Side effects from medications
- Infection or other health issues that need to be treated
Each one of these things could cause your elderly loved one to have personality changes. You see, those with dementia (especially in the later stages) can’t properly explain what they are going through, so their personality changes are a sign that something isn’t right. It could be that one of the needs just mentioned isn’t being met.
How Can You Better Handle the Personality Changes
Does your elderly loved one have dementia? Have you been noticing personality changes in them lately? If so, these are certain ways that you can better handle these changes such as:
- Spending more time with your elderly loved one to find out which changes are present in certain circumstances (in-home care providers can do this, as well)
- Making plans to help avoid triggers (such as sadness, anger, hunger, etc.)
- Once you find the cause make a quick plan to solve the problem
- Learn more about how to prevent certain triggers (support groups for loved ones with dementia could be a great idea)
If you can start doing these things, it could reduce the personality or behavior changes that are present in your elderly loved one. It could also help to prevent some issues in their personality, as well.
Above, you have read about some of the triggers that could be causing personality changes in your elderly loved one if they have dementia. You have also read about what you can do about these triggers and how to prevent some problems from arising, too. If you need any help in handling these personality changes in your elderly loved one, don’t be afraid to reach out to home care providers for help right away.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering In-Home Care in Wake Forest, NC please contact the caring staff at Affordable Family Care. Serving Raleigh, Greensboro, and the surrounding areas in North Carolina. Call today 919-676-1070.
Sources
https://alzheimers.med.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Personality-and-Behavior-Change.pdf
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