Transcript
Hello, caregiver. How are you? Are you taking great care of yourself? Well, I hope so. Well, the holidays are upon us. Are you making preparations? I know that we are preparing for Thanksgiving and we're getting ready for Christmas and then it's New Year's. But I want to make sure that you are planning ahead for your loved ones with dementia during this holiday season.
Yes, plan ahead. I started this about two years ago and prior to planning, our holidays were not very memorable. But when I started planning ahead, making sure that my mother was a part of the process, maintaining her routine, because she doesn't realize it's the holiday time. We know that, but a person with dementia is not aware of that.
And so, one of the things that I did, and I want to share with you a few little tips and strategies to be able to help you navigate through the holidays is to plan ahead, making sure that you try to do as much of your running errands, the busyness, do that when you're not with your loved ones with dementia.
I don't do any grocery shopping because there's too many people in the grocery stores or in the mall and it's overstimulating. For my mother, I try to do that when I'm not with her. Another thing is that I maintain her routine. We have a caregiver that comes to the house and she takes my mother out to different outings, bowling, or either to the senior citizen center where they may exercise.
I maintain that routine all the way throughout the holidays, except on the day that the center may be closed or some of the other venues may be closed because of the holidays. But that helps us stay into her routine, her sleep routine, her meal routine. Because once again, the holidays does not mean the same for someone with dementia as it does with you or with me.
We're doing all the preparations and planning. I try to make sure we have a dementia friendly environment. Normally my house is decorated with lights and trees and ornaments now, because my kids are grown and they are on their own now, I've minimized the decorations because it's overstimulating. I may decorate the fireplace or the mantle, put a small tree up.
But for now, basically I keep that to a minimum because I don't want her to be overstimulated on the day of the event. Like this coming Thursday is Thanksgiving. I prepare the guests. Mom has dementia. This is her behaviors when she gets overstimulated. So I have everyone aware of it.
And so when she starts pacing or getting a little anxious. You know, I assign someone while I'm in the kitchen preparing the meals or setting the table or maybe talking to a guest, someone else may be assigned to, we call her Grandma Lou at that time. So try to have someone make sure your guest is aware of it, what they do when they get anxious and be mindful.
A lot of times we get so caught up in the events of the day and the festivities, we tend to forget about the loved one with dementia. So I keep her at the forefront, we keep her at the center of attention, and she feels like she's a part of the process.
And it just makes the day go so much more smooth and meaningful. We also communicate. You know, we can't help this. When we get together, we are loud and laughing and reminiscing. But during those times, we all kind of pay attention. If we see her, like, asking, what are you all talking about? What, what? Then we'll slow the conversation down and include her in it. And so those little things, just being mindful about that, making sure that we make her feel like she's a part of the gathering. Because once again, they have sensory deficits. They can't hear and the, they can hear, but a lot of times the noise is like bombs going off in their heads.
And so, you know, they get easily agitated if, if the house is crowded, you know, make sure you have a space for them. My mother, she can handle anything as long as she can see me or she's near me. And so unless I'm preparing the table or talking to a guest, I pretty much keep her near me.
Or there's another family member or two that she's close with. If I'm busy, then we'll switch out. But what I'm saying is that be mindful about them throughout the holidays. Times don't just kind of put them off in a corner somewhere and forget about them. Because the holidays, as much as we would like to, as much as we would like to be able to go, on with business as usual, they're part of our lives and we want to make sure that they feel as much as a part of the family as possible.
And sometimes the brain will not allow them to do that. So it's important for us to be mindful. And if you employ these tips and strategies, I can assure you you will have a very meaningful holidays. And like I said, regardless of how long the festivities last, keep them on their routine.
If I have people at my house late with the holidays. I still put her to bed at the same time, give her her nighttime medicines. I may give her a little extra medicine for anxiety to help her rest. Well, but since we've been employing these strategies, we've had wonderful holidays, and I hope that this can be something helpful for you as well.
If you have any questions, you can reach out to me on my www.aplaceinzion.com. we'll be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. But from myself and the team at A Place in Zion, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving, a blessed and safe holiday season, and remember, there is hope.