You might notice your loved one being more irritable if they are suffering from dementia. Learn what are the reasons for dementia-related anger and how to calm your loved ones down. Through these tips, you can help your loved ones enjoy their life to the fullest.
Reasons for Dementia-related Anger
One reason for your loved one’s anger is that their ability to function decreases when they have dementia. However, some other factors might cause them to become angry and even aggressive. They might be experiencing physical pain and be unable to communicate the reason for their pain, causing them to become angry. Tiredness, hunger, or even thirst might also make them angry.
Your loved ones’ anger could be caused by the side effects of their medications, especially when they have many chronic conditions and are taking many different types of medications. Your loved ones’ anger might also be triggered by their environment, as they could be overstimulated by an overactive environment, loud noise, or even physical clutter in their homes. If they are in an unfamiliar environment, their anger might be due to them feeling lost.
Communication is another common trigger. They might be struggling to understand the instructions and questions posed to them, and they become angry if they cannot process them fast enough. However, it might be that both of you are stressed from the miscommunication and tension.
Tips to Solve Anger and Dementia
To calm your loved ones down when they are angry, you can try to find out why they are angry. For a start, you can recall what happened before they became angry. When your loved one is angry, try to not get upset yourself. Speak calmly and in a softer tone to calm them down.
Distraction is a way of calming them down. Persuade them to try an activity that would help them relax and be less upset. You can also shift their focus to a different activity as the current activity might have caused them to become upset.
You can simplify the decisions your loved ones take. This would help them to be less confused with the decisions they have to make and lower the risk of them becoming angry.
You can also slow down when speaking to them. Slowing down would help give your loved one more time to process your words. Another way to reduce their anger is to ensure that their environment is quiet. This can help them to process their daily tasks better as it allows them to concentrate better.
With these tips, you will be better equipped to deal with your loved ones’ dementia-related anger and help them live their golden years in a fulfilling manner. However, it is normal to feel overwhelmed when dealing with your loved ones’ seemingly unexplained anger, especially when they have dementia. At TerraBella Lake Norman, our team can provide you with personalized guidance to ensure that you can learn the most effective way to communicate and care for your loved ones.
