Dealing With A Family Member with Dementia
Article by Alex Jensen
Medical technology has advanced to the point where we are living much longer than we were in the past. This has unfortunately also resulted in the discovery of new medical problems such as dementia. Coming to grips with a family member suffering from dementia can be one of the toughest things to work through.
What is dementia? It is simply the loss of cognitive ability. It can be a result of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, brain trauma, a brain tumor or other medical issues. It manifests as a lost of ability to remember and function with the severity of the symptoms slowly increasing over time.
Dementia is a tough condition for a person to deal with. Realizing that you are losing your faculties is not a comfortable situation to say the least. That being said, the silver lining of dementia is…well, you lose the ability to recognize what is going on. Although this may sound blunt, it is a rather comforting fact that most people with dementia do not suffer per se. There is no pain. The same can’t be said for their family members.
Watching a loved one progress through dementia is tough. Nothing will break your heart quicker than realizing your mother or father no longer recognizes you. It is simply brutal. If you have a family member with dementia in any form, you need to make sure you take care of yourself as well as them.
First things first. The fact your loved one has dementia is not your fault in any way. Most people will realize as much, but guilt can start to build in proportion to the amount of care the loved one needs. As time passes, they will need more and more care.
Eventually, you are going to have to determine whether a professional living facility is needed. For most families, it is. Making that decision, however, can create huge amounts of guilt. Don’t let it! You have a life of your own. You are not abandoning your loved one. There is a difference between caring for a loved one and being overwhelmed by it.
Dementia is one of the toughest medical problems to deal with as a family member. It goes on for years and years. You are going to need someone to talk with and someone to vent at. There are support groups for family members of dementia patients. Join them! If you try to “tough it out”, you will only suffer.
About the Author
Alex Jensen is with RiversideCarePlacement.com – a free Riverside assisted living placement service for seniors with and without dementia.