Alzheimer’s Care Advice for Angry Seniors
Alzheimer’s can cause personality changes in seniors. That’s one of the many things associated with Alzheimer’s that can be very jarring for family members. If you know that your senior parent is usually a gentle person but they start experiencing personality changes and they become angry or belligerent often that can be tough to deal with. In some cases, it may even be dangerous if your senior parent is quite a bit bigger or stronger than you. One way that family caregivers can cope with personality changes in a senior with Alzheimer’s is to get Alzheimer’s care. The caregivers who provide Alzheimer’s care are trained to handle angry outbursts in seniors with compassionate care and deflection to defuse the situation.
Agree With Them
If your senior parent is angry about something in particular or if they are angry because they were told something that isn’t lining up with their experience just agree with them to defuse their anger. For example, if your senior parent is angry because they think that someone took something they care about and hid it even though it’s right in front of them just agree with them that it’s a terrible thing that someone took their item. Then pretend to find the item and give it back to them so they will be happy and not angry.
Go With It
If your senior parent is angry because they feel like they are not being allowed to do something they want to do sometimes the best thing to do is go along with but try to change the terms of the encounter so that they become distracted. For example, if your senior parent is in the car and they keep saying they want to get out and they are getting angry you can make a deal with them by telling them that they can get out when you get to the gas station up ahead. Or to the store.
Redirect Their Attention
Redirection is a fantastic tool that can prevent a lot of problems with dealing with a senior parent that has Alzheimer’s who is angry. For example, if your senior parent wants to leave the house but you’re afraid that they’re going to wander off on their own and they won’t stop trying to open the door to get out tell them that they can go for a walk but first they need to pick a coat because it’s cold.
Take them to the closet to pick out a coat, and then redirect their attention to the living room by telling them a show they like is on. They will then focus on the show and not care about getting out the door anymore. Redirection is a tool that can help in almost every difficult situation that you face when you are taking care of a senior parent with Alzheimer’s.