Here's how to treat a person with dementia who likes to change their behavior

Living with a family member who has dementia is not easy. People who have dementia, of course, cannot live alone, they must have family members who take care of them daily. One of the biggest challenges in caring for a person with dementia is dealing with it when they experience a change in behavior. Changes in behavior that occur at times can irritate, irritate, and even despair. It's hard to be sure, but to lighten the burden, you can follow these tips for caring for dementia people.

Various tips for caring for people with dementia who experience behavioral changes

Caring for people with dementia can be tricky. You have to turn your brain, what response should you do when someone you care about changes behavior. Of course, his behavior is so unusual, it can even irritate you. Therefore, you can do the following tips for caring for people with dementia.

The first principle: it is not their behavior that must be changed

People with dementia, have very short memories, always feel confused, and their behavior changes easily. However, remember that the patient is experiencing neurological disorders in his brain, so it is useless to tell him that what he is doing is wrong or strange. If you just try to change his behavior, then you will definitely not succeed. Instead, what you have to do is change the environment around it, to make it comfortable.

For example, if the person you care about suddenly falls asleep on the floor, then all you have to do is make it comfortable to sleep there. For example, preparing a thick mattress and blanketing it so that it is comfortable. Meanwhile, if you tell him to go back to his room, maybe at that time he will obey. However, a few moments later, it is not impossible that you will find it again on the floor.

Check with a doctor

When treating a person with dementia, you also need to be diligent about taking him to the doctor. Especially if he experiences changes in behavior continuously. This could be due to side effects of the drugs given to him. For example, the drug can make him hallucinate more often.

If indeed a side effect of the drug, maybe the doctor can change the dose of the drug or even replace it with another type of drug. Most importantly, you must consult with the doctor who handles it.

See what the behavior means

When a behavior change occurs, don't get irritated or annoyed with him just yet. Better, look what he wants to do. Even with dementia, sometimes what the patient does has a purpose.

People with dementia can't clearly tell what they need or want, so they will do things that may not be normal.

For example, when he took out all his clothes from the wardrobe. You must be confused about what caused this to happen. It could be that he did this because he was confused that there were no other activities he could do. So, you can just invite him to pursue his hobby, so that he can spend his time doing useful activities.

Identify the triggers for behavior change

Every oddity of behavior is actually triggered by something. For example, a patient feels bored, depressed, or afraid of the surrounding environment, then this behavior change may appear suddenly. When this happens, you are required to be more sensitive and understand the person you care about.

If indeed the patient is bored, you can keep him busy with various useful activities, for example making crafts or just doing light homework together. These activities can keep him busy. Or if he's feeling scared and anxious, then you should be there to help him relax.

Don't get hung up on yesterday

Don't be surprised if every day you may be faced with different behaviors. This means that you need to be more creative and rack your brain to take a different approach every day. Once again remember, that you cannot control and do not know what behavior he will do, so all you can do is continue to make him comfortable and keep him busy with various useful things.