Just because your senior has dementia, that doesn’t mean she’s immune to stress. In fact, she’s likely experiencing a great deal of stress that elder care providers can help you to sort out.
Exhaustion Is a Stressor
Your elderly family member might be dealing with fatigue for a variety of reasons. She might not be sleeping well or she might be pushing herself too hard during the day. This creates stress because as she gets more tired, she’s unable to regulate her emotions or her reactions to what happens around her. This can contribute to other situations that might make it even more difficult for her to relax and to sleep well. All of that becomes a vicious cycle. Establishing a solid sleep routine and having someone else handling complicated tasks can make this a lot easier on your senior.
Your Senior Can Be Overstimulated
When there’s a lot that needs to be done, especially if your elderly family member feels that she needs to be the one doing a lot of those tasks, your senior can end up being overstimulated. That creates a great deal of stress for your elderly family member. She may not be able to step back from those stimuli, either, which makes it all worse. With help from elder care providers, your senior can get a buffer between herself and whatever might be overstimulating her.
Big or Fast Changes Create Stress
Changes that are made too quickly or that happen outside of your senior’s normal routine are incredibly stressful for her. Routines are comforting, particularly for people with dementia. Having home care providers available who can smooth over the situations that are likely to disrupt your senior’s routine can help her to experience her daily life on a more even keel more regularly.
She May Know She’s Not Quite in Your Reality
Dementia can be tricky for your senior. She may not be able to hang out in “your reality” for long periods of time, but that doesn’t mean she’s not aware that she’s not in the same general reality with you. That creates stress for her because she doesn’t want to be causing problems for you and for others in her life, but she can’t help it, either. Elder care providers can help her to navigate the complicated areas in between her reality and yours.
Elder care providers can help you to understand what is creating stress for your senior, too. That gives you a chance to put together a plan of action for her.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elder Care in Sherman Oaks, CA, please call Mom's Home Care and talk to our friendly, knowledgeable staff. Our number is 323-244-4789