Volume 1; Issue 7
January 15, 2010

Welcome to this issue of The Dementia Caregiving Encourager. We’re glad you’re here!

Happy New Year! Whether 2009 brought joy or sorrow to your caregiving experience, 2010 is a new year. A whole new set of opportunities, challenges, and memories.

This issue is about setting goals. About growing and stretching and pushing ourselves to become better, to become more—no matter what circumstances we are facing.

Dementia caregiving can be demanding, but losing who you are during those challenging months or years can make the job even more difficult. I encourage you to look for ways to improve yourself this year. You deserve it!

And while you are setting goals for yourself consider helping your care recipient to set goals also. We all need to feel useful and be to be able to accomplish things. A dementia patient may need to set very short term goals, but the personal growth that comes from meeting them will be valuable.

It is a privilege to share my story with you so that you can benefit from my experience. If you ever have a question I can answer for you please write to me. I’m here to help.

If you have any comments or suggestions for The Dementia Caregiving Encourager please contact us. We love to hear from our readers.

Blessings!
Paula Farris & Lanette Stultz
http://www.DementiaCaregiving101.com

Dementia and Goal Setting

We all have an internal desire to be needed; to feel useful, like we are contributing something, however small, to those around us. A dementia patient who is left to themselves without being directed to an activity they can easily accomplish will often withdraw and become difficult to care for.

Without an outlet for their skills, talents, and abilities the dementia patient may “give up.” They may stop eating, resist personal grooming, and perhaps act out in anger or violence. When they are involved in a meaningful activity they find a purpose and some hope.

You as a dementia caregiver have to accomplish many, many things. How can your care recipient help? Pairing socks, stirring pancake batter, entertaining a small child are all tasks that most dementia patients can do. Take a few minutes to think through your daily tasks. Show them how to do simple jobs and then reward them with your praise and thankfulness for lightening your load.

If your loved one has forgotten how to do basic skills set a goal with them to help them to relearn these things. Break the job down into very basic steps. I.e. 1. Pick up hairbrush, 2. Brush front of hair, 3. Brush back of hair, 4. Put hair brush down.

Repeat these simple steps with them over and over again each day. They may eventually be able to complete the job themselves. Reward these simple victories with genuine praise and then set a goal to learn another skill.

While dementia caregiving requires much of your time don’t neglect to set goals for yourself. Perhaps you may not be able climb Mount Everest this year, but you may be able to consistently run 10 miles on the treadmill each day. Pick up a hobby or develop a skill you’ve set aside for awhile. Set some simple goals and make a plan to meet them.

Goal setting is a great way to relieve stress. Knowing you are better at something at the end of the month or the end of the year will bolster your spirits and spur you on to accomplish more. They will also help your care recipient to feel like they are needed. And both of these results will make your life better.

Activity Idea

Resist the urge to spring clean and to do a thorough purging of everything in your home. This kind of major job is time consuming and can create quite a disorganized mess. This kind of environment will just add stress to life. A simple, quick assessment of each area is all you need at this hectic time in your life.

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