Health Archives - CignpostLife Blog

Dementia Support

People with dementia experience a number of different challenges in their day-to-day life, and it’s important to recognise ways to support our loved ones and make their lives a little easier.

Here are some tips to help you with supporting someone with dementia:

Limit news intake: For people living with dementia, having a constant stream of images on the news may cause additional worry and feel overwhelming. So, when these huge news events happen, the news cycle tends to be overtaken with distressing images and speculation about what might happen next, which makes it difficult to switch off from what is happening. Turn off the news for a while, try playing some music they like or a put on a light-hearted film.

Supporting someone experiencing time-shifting: Time-shifting is when a person’s experience is that they are living at a different time in their life. This may cause them to become disorientated and confused about time and place. Listen carefully to what the person is saying to understand their reality. Acknowledge their concerns and try to reassure them that you will help.

Dehydration in hot weather: For older people dehydration is a common problem, and especially those with dementia. Memory problems mean someone with dementia can easily forget to drink enough water. Therefore, it is important to offer a variety of refreshments throughout the day and make sure they are in a suitable cup, glass or bottle within easy reach. Perhaps, place a few

Tips to help with mental health

We all experience stress at points in our lives and many of us can struggle with our mental health. It’s important to recognise these bad periods and take steps to help reduce the negative impacts they have on our mental health.

These are our top tips to help you with your mental health.

Try to maintain a routine – a daily structure can help give stability

Be kind to yourself – don’t put pressure on yourself to be productive. We all need a day off to avoid burn out, it’s not a bad thing to have a rest day.

Minimise the time you spend watching bad news on the TV – We all want to keep up to date with the news but sometimes too much bad news can harm our mental health.

Go out for walks if you are able to – fresh air and getting out of the house can be a great way to take a breather from the daily grind.

Remember it’s OK to feel how you feel, we all deal with things differently and there’s no right or wrong way to cope in stressful situations – and know if you ever need help there are some great organisations that are available to give you extra support.