ahoi!
I just read the post about dementia patients. It sounded to me you were working with some and I wondered, I hope you don’t mind.
What about those who don’t have happy memories or even life, who were abused, traumatised, maybe since their childhood and had to fight with that their entire life.
Most don’t survive long enough to develop age-related dementia, because the symptoms worsen over time, but they must be some.
Are those patients stuck in a ‘horror world’ instead?
How do they deal with that?
Kind regards & best wishes
I have come across a handful that would have a very difficult time. I didn't always know their story or what they had been through, but there were some things we would try to do as their caregivers.
One would be to figure out what triggers them. Often if someone has been assaulted, being undressed by a stranger or cleaned brings them back to the trauma, often made worse if the caregiver was a male.
Sometimes it's loud noises (can often be the case for some veterans), sometimes it can be random things that don't seem to have a clear reason to us.
If you can identify what will send them into a spiral, you can proceed with a lot more care and consideration. For some we knew that we needed more anxiety meds on board around the fourth of July. For some we could plan to shower them first thing in the morning, when they tended to be more clear minded and it wouldn't be as traumatizing. We would make sure they're being cared for by women, and sometimes talking calmly and keeping them talking would help keep them more "present".
Unfortunately it is a lot of trial and error, and sometimes there is no easy answer except to keep giving them the care they need to keep them safe and healthy.
Hope that helps!