How to Help a Loved One with Dementia

Caring for a loved one with dementia can be an inspirational and challenging journey. 

While this path isn’t without hurdles, understanding dementia and adopting effective care strategies can positively affect your loved one’s overall well-being while easing the caregiving process. These can include: 

  • Adjust your communication 
  • Create a safe space
  • Develop a routine
  • Refrain from moralizing 
  • Ask for Help

Defining Dementia

Dementia isn’t reflective of a single condition. Instead, it’s an umbrella term describing a collection of symptoms affecting cognitive functions like memory, reasoning, and communication. It’s most commonly associated with declining memory, and while it predominantly affects older adults, it’s not a normal part of aging. 

Dementia develops when brain cells are damaged, disrupting normal brain function by impairing cognitive processes, emotional regulation, and physical coordination. Over time, people may struggle with daily activities such as dressing, eating, and recognizing familiar faces or surroundings.

About Dementia’s Progressive Nature

Dementia progresses in stages, from mild forgetfulness to severe cognitive impairments, where those affected by it require constant care. Each stage presents its own set of challenges, requiring caregivers and families to continuously adapt. 

Familiarizing yourself with dementia’s progressive nature helps prepare families for their loved ones’ evolving needs. While someone may show early signs of forgetfulness today, they may lose their ability to perform daily tasks in the future.

Accepting this progressive fosters patience and encourages long-term planning, confirming proper care is provided at every stage. 

Tips for Caregivers

Caring for a loved one with dementia is rewarding but requires patience, adaptability, and empathy. 

The following tips are designed to offer guidance and support, encouraging families to manage their responsibilities while verifying the well-being of themselves and their loved ones. 

Adjust Your Communication

Dementia significantly disrupts a person’s ability to process and express their thoughts clearly. Words may be forgotten, sentences may trail off, and confusion may arise. 

Remaining patient and adjusting your approach to communication is key: 

  • Speak clearly and gently: Use simple words and short sentences. Avoid raising your voice, as this can cause distress.
  • Maintain eye contact: This helps your loved one feel acknowledged and focused on the conversation. To make conversations easier, eliminate distractions by minimizing background noise, such as the TV.
  • Be patient: Give extra time for your loved one to process what you’ve said and respond. Avoid interrupting them, as this can cause them to lose their train of thought or cause confusion.
  • Use non-verbal cues: Smiles, gestures, or gentle touches can help emphasize the topic at hand.

Create a Safe Space

Dementia can affect mobility and increase the risk of falls, confusion, or wandering. Adapting your loved one’s living environment to reduce potential hazards is vital for maintaining their safety. 

  • Remove clutter: Keep pathways, like hallways and stairs, clear of obstacles and trip hazards. Remove rugs, sharp-edge furniture, and cords that could lead to trips or falls.
  • Install safety features: Add handrails, grab bars, and non-slip mats, especially in bathrooms and stairways.
  • Improve lighting: Keep all areas, especially stairs and hallways, well-lit to reduce disorientation and risk of falls. Motion sensor night lights are great to keep on hand. 
  • Use simple organization: Label drawers or cabinets to help your loved one easily locate items. 
  • Create familiar spaces: Decorate with familiar items, photos, or objects throughout the space to offer visual reminders, providing comfort and reducing confusion. 
An older adult enjoying their daily afternoon walk with their loved one.

Develop a Routine

Consistency provides a sense of stability to those experiencing dementia. A predictable daily schedule reduces confusion and anxiety, reassuring your loved one.

A daily routine may look like: 

  • Morning: Wake up at the same hour each day. After personal care, start the day with a nutritious breakfast and engage in light physical activity, like stretching or a short walk. 
  • Afternoon: Enjoy an activity like painting, knitting, or embroidery and have lunch, followed by rest or some quiet time.
  • Evening: Prepare dinner together and involve your loved one by giving them simple tasks like laying out utensils. Finish the day with a relaxing activity like reading or watching a favorite TV show. 

While routines are beneficial, being flexible is equally important. Recognize that some days may veer from the plan because of shifts in mood or behavior. Adapting to these moments helps maintain harmony and create a comfortable space for your loved one. 

Refrain from Moralizing 

A loved one with dementia may experience distorted memories or false beliefs over time. Arguing to correct them is rarely productive and creates frustration and stress. 

Instead, focus on fostering a calm and supportive environment: 

  • Accept their reality: Validate their emotions without reinforcing confusion. For example, if they insist it’s 1950, calmly engage them by reminiscing about the time period rather than contradicting them.
  • Choose empathy over logic: Listen attentively and respond to their feelings, not the accuracy of their statements.
  • Avoid dismissiveness: Reassure them that you understand their concerns.

Ask for Help

Caring for someone with dementia can be fulfilling, but it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. It takes a village to care for loved ones, and building a supportive network helps verify proper care for loved ones while preventing caregiver burnout

  • Lean on family and friends: Delegate tasks like preparing meals or managing appointments. Sharing responsibilities lessens the workload. 
  • Join caregiver communities: Consider joining a support group where you can share experiences with others and gather practical advice. 
  • Consider memory care: Dementia’s progressive nature means there will likely come a time when your loved one will require ongoing supportive care that cannot always be provided at home. 

Understanding Memory Care

Memory care is a specialized long-term community tailored specifically for those experiencing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

These communities provide a structured environment with routines designed to reduce stress while professional care staff deliver personalized support to meet residents’ unique and evolving care needs.

Memory care plays a pivotal role in maintaining your loved one’s overall well-being by verifying their safety, promoting cognitive stimulation, and fostering social connections, all of which positively contribute to their quality of life. 

At Holbrook, we take an inspired approach to memory care. Our Inspired Living neighborhood is a safe and secure community for residents with memory impairment conditions. We provide our residents with a personalized care plan, as well as access to Holbrook’s wealth of amenities, including health and wellness classes, a full service spa, therapeutic meals, on-site nurses, beautiful, ergonomic residential suites, and much more.

Schedule a Tour

A supportive network makes all the difference when caring for a loved one with dementia. 

Our team at Holbrook Sugar Hill provides a comprehensive approach to dementia care, allowing families to focus on maintaining relationships instead of everyday caregiving responsibilities. 

Connect with us at Holbrook Sugar Hill to schedule a tour of our memory care community. 

We look forward to
speaking with you