"An ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching," Mahatma Gandhi.
One of the hardest things for a caregiver, in my opinion, is to head off what the authors of the 36 Hour Day book call "catastrophic reactions" or angry reactions. There are some wonderful tips in the latest Mayo Alzheimer's Caregiving newsletter:
"In people with dementia, when we use phrases such as "You can't," "I want you to," "You need to," "I told you," "That's not what I said," and so on, we can make a tough situation worse.
Consider this, if we as caregivers can respond to our loved one with dementia in a way that offers them a sense of control or an illusion of control, we can diffuse reactions of anger and the outcome may be more desirable. A way to do this is by validating their feelings, joining their agenda, and lastly redirecting. Think of it as a 3 step process. Here's what this could sound like using Vicki's scenario." (To read the rest of this article go to www.mayoclinic.com to their health information section.)
Great advise and something that has the potential to make our lives easier.
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