9 Effective Ways to Reduce Alzheimer’s Aggression
Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder that destroys thinking skills, memory, and verbal abilities, making it difficult for individuals to carry out normal daily activities.
Alzheimer’s slowly robs sufferers of the ability to remember things like familiar faces or places, manage finances, handle personal hygiene tasks, keep track of current events, remember the past, and make decisions.
The cause of the Disease is unknown, but risk factors may include aging, genetic predisposition, and environmental influences. Early indications of Alzheimer’s are subtle, so affected individuals can go undiagnosed for many years.
Treatment for Alzheimer’s is focused on managing symptoms, as no known cure is available.
Ways To Reduce And Prepare For Aggressive Alzheimer’s Behaviors
Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s can be incredibly difficult, especially when managing their outbursts of aggression.
It is important to remember that Alzheimer’s causes physical and emotional changes in the brain that can cause outbursts and aggressive behavior.
As caregivers, staying patient and calm while exploring different strategies to manage these behaviors is essential.
Here are nine practical ways you can reduce aggression in an individual, keep on reading to learn about Alzheimer’s Disease.
Remain Calm
It is essential to remain calm and composed when your loved one is having an outburst or being aggressive. Speak calmly and provide reassurance if they appear confused or scared. Reacting with anger, frustration, or pity will only worsen matters.
Identify The Trigger
Take a moment to identify what might be triggering the aggressive behavior. Is your loved one feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or anxious? Try to remove the trigger from the environment by redirecting them to another activity or conversation topic.
Enlist Professional Help
If your loved one is displaying aggression regularly, consider enlisting professional help from a geriatric specialist or psychologist who has experience working with individuals with dementia-related aggression.
These professionals can design an individualized treatment plan tailored specifically for your loved one’s needs, including medications or counseling sessions designed to help them cope better with their anger and frustration.
Distract Them
Sometimes all it takes is a simple distraction like playing music or providing a snack to quickly redirect their attention away from whatever was making them angry in the first place.
Distraction techniques will vary depending on the individual so take some time to figure out what works best for your loved one—it could be anything from reading books together to going for walks outside!
Reassure Them
Most importantly, always provide reassurance when your loved one is overwhelmed by their emotions and frustrations.
Show them that you are there for them no matter what and remind them how much you care about them—this simple act of kindness can go a long way towards reducing aggression in individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Understand the Triggers
It is essential to understand what triggers the aggressive behavior so that you can work to avoid them or address them quickly before they become an issue.
Common triggers may include physical discomfort, changes in routine or environment, fear or confusion, and hunger or fatigue.
By taking time to observe your loved one’s behavior patterns, you can identify these triggers so that you can take steps to eliminate or reduce them where possible.
Establish Ground Rules
Establishing ground rules ahead of time helps define acceptable behavior and provides clear boundaries for your loved one.
Make sure these rules are simple and consistent; otherwise, it will be tough for someone with dementia to keep track of them all.
Additionally, try introducing only a few new rules at a time, as this could lead to further confusion and frustration, eventually resulting in more aggressive outbursts.
Create a Safe Space
Creating a safe space is critical when addressing any aggression in someone with Alzheimer’s Disease because it allows them room to cool down without being exposed to any further triggers or stressors while they do so.
A safe space might look like a quiet corner of the house where they can sit undisturbed until they feel ready enough to return to their familiar environment without fear of another outburst occurring again soon afterward.
Validate Feelings
It’s also important to remember that aggression often stems from fear or frustration due to the confusion caused by dementia.
It’s easy for caregivers to become frustrated too. Still, it’s essential not to take it personally – instead, try validating your loved one’s feelings by calmly acknowledging them without judgment or criticism (e.g., “I understand that this is upsetting for you”).
This simple gesture can reduce anger and frustration and create an atmosphere of understanding and support.
Conclusion
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s can bring its unique set of challenges, but understanding how best to manage aggressive behavior can be difficult.
Fortunately, as mentioned above, you can use many strategies to help reduce aggression in those affected by this condition.
With patience and understanding, caregivers will hopefully succeed using these strategies as they support individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease through their daily lives!
