THOUGHTS ON MY MIND

A friend of mine was picking up a to-go order at a local restaurant when she heard yelling coming from the bathroom.

She asked the staff member if everything was okay.

That’s when she learned there was an older man hiding in the women’s restroom and the manager was trying to get him to come out. Apparently it was the second time it had happened that week.

My first thought was that the man might have dementia.

My friend’s first thought was that she didn’t feel safe.

She told me later that she was scared.

I don’t know whether that man had dementia or not.

But it made me think about something caregivers experience all the time.

Even when we know dementia is the cause of someone’s behavior, it doesn’t automatically make the moment less scary.

We are still the ones standing there.

We still have to figure out how to respond.
How to keep them safe.
How to keep ourselves safe.

Understanding dementia helps us make sense of behavior.
But knowing does not stop us from feeling.
And it doesn’t always mean we instantly know what to do in the moment either.

So if you’ve ever felt anxious, uncertain, or even scared when a dementia-related behavior happens, it does not mean you are lacking compassion.

It means you are human.

And it means you are dealing with something difficult.

This is exactly why the upcoming Behavior Breakthroughs event begins by focusing on the caregiver experience of dementia behaviors.

Before we talk about strategies or solutions, we start with understanding what these moments feel like and why they affect us so deeply.

From there, we’ll walk through the most common causes of dementia-related behaviors and practical tools that help replace panic with a clear plan.

​If you’d like to join us, you can learn more and save your spot here.