Alzheimer’s disease and dementia can generate anger, anxiety, confusion, and fear for the individual living with the disease. However, there is a strategy known as “redirection.” Redirection is a method in which you remove the attention of a distressed person from the scenario that causes anger, anxiety, fear to a more pleasant situation.
Changing the Mood of your Senior Loved One
Dementia makes them unable to process things like they used to. The “executive functioning” skills of insight, judgement and reasoning are compromised.
As a result, your loved dementia may be unable to tell the difference between a hallucination and reality. It’s pointless to try to explain why their perceived reality isn’t true.
When your loved one is acting inappropriately, becoming nervous, or engaging in unsafe behavior knowing how to communicate with them can positively shift their behavior.
Take these Steps 6 for Redirection
You can find ways to stay connected with your loved one without them feeling overwhelmed. Attempt to comprehend that the anxiety, fear or other emotion of your loved one is resulting from anger or feeling out of control. For instance, they can have difficulty processing a response. An individual with dementia may ask the same question again and again due to feeling frustrated having trouble attempting to communicate what they need.
Follow these tips on how to redirect your loved one:
1. Manage the Surroundings
Is the room too hot or too cold but your loved one can’t express how they’re feeling? Is the room quiet and comfortable or too noisy? Sometimes, redirection can be used by changing the surrounding environment.
2. Get Outdoors
Getting outside in the light and sunshine are healthy for redirecting the brain. Breathing in fresh air and changing the environment can have positive benefits on their behavior.
3. Do Things with Meaning
Giving patients tasks that make them feel important can redirect their mood. For example, if a patient isn’t taking their medicine, but you give them a chart to check off each medication as they take it. This can make them feel more involved and more likely to be proactive in taking their medicine.
4. Be Simple
Having simple and direct conversations with your loved one can make it easier for them to comprehend. Only ask one thing at a time, so they don’t get confused. Ask them to carry out a task that’s simple, without a lot of details.
5. Redirect the Conversation
Instead of pushing them to do things that they don’t want to do, take the conversation to something that can remind them to do it themselves. For example, if you’re trying to get them to eat and they won’t remind them of how much you liked their cooking. This might get them to focus back on their food and start eating it.
6. Calming Touch
Make sure your loved one is okay with being touched. Something as simple as holding their hand can be comforting and grounding for them.
With redirection, keep in mind that one method may function okay once, but not the next, so having several alternatives on hand is a good idea. The whole concept of redirecting is that you want the individual to be cared for and listened to and ensure that they feel secure.
Entrust of DeSoto: A Resident-centric Memory Care Community in Dallas, Texas
Entrust of DeSoto is a memory care community that puts resident well-being at the center of everything we do. We know that each person is unique. That’s why we offer a wide range of services and lifestyle options to nourish the body and create community.
We understand the importance of home cooked meals and nutrition for seniors and this attitude is reflected in our dining experience. If you or a loved one live near Dallas, Texas and need assisted living, contact Entrust of DeSoto today to learn about our 24-hour care and find out how we can help.
