When you have a loved one dealing with dementia, your entire family can feel as if they are suffering from the disease. The burden of care for your aging family member can be exhausting, but you don’t want to leave them without the care that they need. Add in obligations and commitments to other family members, school, work, or social engagements, and life can quickly become more than some people can manage. Here’s what you can do to lighten that load:
Remind Your Loved One – and Yourself – As Needed
In the early stages of dementia, reminders can help people hold onto their ability to reason and remember things for longer than they otherwise would be able to. Program alarms into their devices, leave notes for your loved one – do whatever you can to help them remember who they are and they will have an easier time remember what they’re doing.
It’s also important to remind yourself once in a while that what’s bothering you so much is the disease, not your loved one. And it’s also important to remind yourself every day that is’ okay to feel what you’re feeling – and okay to reach out to others when you need to.
Get Professional Help
You may feel like you can no longer handle your loved one’s all-day care needs – but you aren’t ready for them to move into a full-time care facility. That’s okay; there are many other solutions. A dementia day care facility can provide the supervision, care, and enrichment that your loved one needs to lead a fulfilling life, even as the condition progresses.
At Philadelphia dementia day care facilities, you will typically find many patients just like your loved one, living life to the fullest while also receiving the kind of understanding care and attention they need. When you can’t be there with your loved one all day, this is an excellent alternative that allows you to work, attend school, and meet your other commitments without compromising their care.
Contact your local adult day care facility today to inquire about dementia care. You’ll feel like you’ve gained a life back – and your loved one will, too.
