Personality Changes and Other Behaviors Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease
Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease can exhibit a variety of behaviors and personality changes, of which some can be quite challenging to deal with and even affect the person’s safety. Changes in your parents or spouse can include irritability, anger, anxiety and other distressing behaviors like wandering or forgetting to turn off the stove.
Dementia care experts say there are techniques to help deal with these feelings, and it may include adjusting your own attitude toward the changes a person is experiencing. Examples include caregivers over estimating the person’s abilities and expecting more from them then they feel capable of doing. This can cause angry outbursts often motivated by frustration. Experts remind caregivers to remember the person’s abilities are changing and suggest shifting your expectations to fit the new norm.
Another common problem many suffer from Alzheimer’s is depression. Cindy Steele, RN, nurse scholar for Copper Ridge, a residential care community in Utah, says 40 percent of people with AD develop depression due to a neurochemical imbalance in the brain. Anxiety disorders and delusions are also common. In many cases, the person’s doctor can help identify the imbalances and prescribe medications to help relieve these troubling symptoms.
Negative behaviors can additionally be caused by physical problems such as a headache, illness or fatigue, which the person is unable to communicate. Over-stimulating environments, being too cold or too hot are other reasons for distress or irritability. Experts say caregivers need to try and stay calm and speak directly to the person using short, easily understood sentences. Avoid sounding condescending.
At Morningstar at North Ridge, a memory care community in Albuquerque, we offer individualized care of those with mild to advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases. Our unique approach to memory care includes finding ways to connect with and nurture the individual essence of each resident, and our energy is put toward finding ways to celebrate and elevate life. Along with individualized care plans, residents receive 24-hour care, daily health monitoring, access to a full-time nurse, and participate in wellness programs and services tailored to their special needs. Please visit our website to learn more.
MorningStar at North Ridge represents the very best in memory care with a distinct mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest”. With a foundation built on honoring God, valuing seniors and investing in staff with a felt calling to serve, we offer loving, compassionate care within a home-like setting. Please contact us for more information about our exceptional community in Albuquerque.