Dealing with Difficult Alzheimer’s and Dementia Symptoms

Why do Alzheimer’s and dementia symptoms cause difficult behavior?

The person with Alzheimer’s or dementia can’t express what’s wrong or what they need, so they act out. Your older adult may act in strange, annoying, or scary ways, but these difficult behaviors often have a real, physical cause.

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Step-by-step guide from the Alzheimer’s Association

To help you deal with these challenging issues, we recommend this free guide from the Alzheimer’s Association.

You can turn directly to the specific behavior that you’re currently dealing with. In one short page, clear instructions walk you through how to understand and manage the situation.

The guide has practical advice on how to deal with these 7 common behaviors:

1. Aggression

2. Anxiety or agitation

3. Confusion

4. Repetition

5. Suspicion

6. Wandering and getting lost

7. Trouble with sleep

Why can’t they just tell me what’s wrong?

Because communication is difficult for the Alzheimer’s or dementia patient, you’ll have to play detective to figure out what’s really causing this behavior. It’s usually a signal that there’s a problem.

Respond in a calm, soothing tone while you follow the guide’s steps to check for:

1. Pain or discomfort

2. Signs of overstimulation

3. Feeling disturbed by strange surroundings

4. Being overwhelmed by complicated tasks

5. Frustration because of the inability to communicate

It feels like they’re acting this way on purpose!

It’s natural for you to feel frustrated and angry, but try to remember that their aggressive or annoying behavior is not done on purpose to annoy you.

Your older adult is trying hard to communicate, but lacks the ability to do it properly. Take a deep breath, slowly count to 10, and use the tips in the guide to calmly deal with the situation.

Next Step Print the guide Behaviors: How to respond when dementia causes unpredictable behaviors

Recommended for you:

1. 3 Stages of Dementia: What to Expect

2. How Do You Calm Down Someone with Dementia? 4 Expert Tips [Video]

3. 10 Fun, No-Fail Activities for People with Dementia

By DailyCaring Editorial Team Image: ElderConsult

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