Persons suffering from memory-related conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease may have trouble or difficulty remembering events that happened recently, including whether they have already asked a specific question. Also commonly known as “short-term memory”, this condition essentially means that they may not have the capacity to hold and manipulate new information for a short period of time. As such, if your loved one has been asking repetitive questions recently, know that they aren’t doing it on purpose to annoy you, but instead, they are truly unaware of themselves repeating the same information.
Even after recognizing this fact, some people still find difficulty in containing their tone of anger or frustration when responding. As such, it is essential to arm yourself with the knowledge to deal with such situations so that you can stay calm and avoid unwarranted confrontations.
Keeping Responses Brief
If you have never been exposed to caretaking for dementia patients, then it is highly likely that you will have the tendency to respond to repetitive questions the same way that you’d answer anyone else. As such, the tone of your response can become aggressive, and you might even lose your patience.
In such cases, always remember to keep your answers brief. This technique is extremely effective not only in responding to dementia patients but also to anyone else that you want to avoid a confrontation with. By keeping your responses short, you are less likely to expand on the response which might end up becoming hurtful remarks.
After all, a short response is also ideal for your time and energy when you have to repeat the same answer several times.
Taking a Breather for a Few Minutes
After hearing the same thing over 10 times, it is only natural if you start finding difficulty in keeping your cool. Oftentimes, this situation is what causes people to lose their temper and start going off. If that has ever happened to you before, forgive yourself for that you are only human. Instead, take steps to avoid such situations from happening again.
One good way to calm yourself down is that when you start experiencing high frustration, take some time out to go for a breather and calm yourself down.
Apart from taking steps to ensure a kind and calm response, you should also take the necessary steps to ensure that older adults get sufficient social interaction to keep themselves sharp and focused.
Focus on Emotion over Choice of Word
If your loved one is repeating the same question over and over, it may also be attributed to the emotions they feel. For example, if you sense that they may be feeling anxious or scared, you may want to give them a hand squeeze or brief hug along with a reply so that they know everything will be okay.
If you worry that you lose your temper easily and still want to make sure that your loved one is being taken care of with the utmost dignity and respect, then memory programs such as the SHINE® Memory Care offered by the Rittenhouse Village At Portage might just be right for you.
