3 Success Shifts To Make In Dementia Care
Are you feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of caregiving for a loved one with dementia? It’s time to make some shifts that can significantly improve your caregiving experience, enhance your relationship with your loved one, and ensure they receive the best care possible. Let’s dive into the three key changes you need to make today.
Shift #1: Focus on Situations, Not Just Behaviors
When we talk about dementia, it’s easy to get caught up in the difficult behaviors, like:
- Refusing to shower
- Rejecting help
- Believing in things that aren’t true
- Experiencing delusions, anger, or hallucinations
But here’s the thing: these behaviors don’t just appear out of nowhere. They’re often triggered by specific situations. By shifting our focus from the behaviors themselves to the context in which they occur, we can start to understand and address the underlying causes.
Action Step: Next time you encounter a challenging behavior, take a step back. Look at the whole picture. What was happening at the time? What factors might have contributed to the behavior? By adjusting these elements, you can reduce and even prevent these behaviors in the future.
Shift #2: Assess, Don't Assume
It’s easy to jump to conclusions about what’s happening with our loved ones. But assumptions can lead us astray. For example, one caregiver assumed her mom was wasting tissues by putting them on her feet. In reality, her mom just wanted something on her feet. Our assumptions might be logical, but they don’t always align with our loved one’s reality.
Action Step: Become a detective. Get curious. Ask yourself:
- What’s going on here?
- What am I seeing?
- What factors are involved?
- What’s one thing I could change?
Curiosity is a powerful tool in caregiving. It opens up new possibilities and leads to more effective solutions.
Shift #3: Extend Dementia Care Beyond the Doctor's Office
Dementia care doesn’t end when you leave the clinic. In fact, most of the support and care happen outside the doctor’s office. Unfortunately, many primary care physicians (PCPs) feel unprepared to provide comprehensive dementia care. A report found that:
- 82% of PCPs are on the front lines of dementia care, but many lack confidence in their abilities.
- 39% are not comfortable making a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
- 27% are not comfortable answering patient questions about dementia.
- 22% had no residency training in dementia diagnosis and care.
Action Step: Explore additional resources for support. Our Care Course offers hands-on guidance to tackle challenging care situations. Check out the link in the description below for more information.
You’ve Got This!
Dementia care can be challenging, but it’s within your control. Choose one of the shifts above and start seeing positive changes in your caregiving journey. Remember, small adjustments can lead to significant improvements. You’re not alone in this journey, and with the right strategies, you can provide compassionate and effective care for your loved one.
You can watch the full video breakdown of these 3 Success Shifts by Clicking HERE (or the photo below).
Want to watch the in-depth video that inspired this post?
Click the video below to watch. ↓
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One Response
I agree about looking at the situation especially about challenging behaviour. I have taken that step back to try to understand what is actually being understood by my partner. Many issues with him come from overload and tiredness from a heavy day. I now assist with night time undressing as he is too tired to understand instructions. I am now applying the action of carrying some of his load, and it works in other frustrating situations that he has. The other day he was near to ripping a shirt button off as he couldn’t get it undone – it was nowhere near time for dressing or undressing but he voiced that it was really annoying him. I undid it for him, and I was surprised that he immediately did it up and left it alone for the rest of the day!!! 2 seconds of undoing for him, even though it didn’t make sense, gave peace for the rest of the day!