Often it’s quite difficult to know what to say to a person diagnosed with dementia especially if that person is your friend or loved one. You don’t know what it is or you probably don’t ask for fear of being offending the dementia patient.
Dementia can affect a person in several ways depending upon what caused this disease and what kind of state of health the individual was and how the brain is affected. So, in order to assist you in how you should talk to a dementia person, we have got a complete list of things which you must not say to them:
1. Don’t say ‘remember when….’
2. Don’t call them ‘victims’ or ‘sufferers’
3. Don’t say they are living with ‘dementia’ unless they are diagnosed with it
4. Don’t remind them of the death of a loved one or pet
5. Don’t say, ‘but don’t look or sound like they have dementia’
6. Don’t tell them ‘they are wrong’
7. Don’t refer to them as demented, dementing illness, vacant dement, demented sufferer, an empty shell, fading away, disappearing or that is the saddest goodbye, stealing us away
8. Don’t blame them for the personality or behavior changes
9. They have a type of dementia not an ‘affliction’
10. Don’t call them as honey, love or anything other than their name
11. Don’t hurt their feelings by assuming things on your own
12. Don’t talk about them to someone else in front of them
13. If they cannot speak does not mean they can’t communicate
14. Don’t think that they can’t feel emotions or pain
15. Don’t presume that they don’t understand just because they are silent
16. Don’t assume anything because that would make an ass out of them
17. Don’t refer to them as ‘aggressive’, ‘wanderer’, ‘wetter’, ‘attention-seeker’, ‘obstructive’, ‘non-communicators’ because after all they are human beings
18. Don’t think that they can’t answer for themselves
19. Many times, voice of people suffering with dementia is mostly being ignored and that is the reason we have outlined the above mentioned pointers which help you gain understanding of what dementia patients go through. So, if you or your friend has dementia then be patient, relax and listen to what your body and mind says.
Moreover, there are plenty of reputed assisted living communities all across USA for your assistance. Take the necessary steps and precautions to get rid of this disease and contact the experienced professional who would help you overcome all the hurdles associated with dementia and show you the right path so that you can live your life peacefully without any mental illness or health issues. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with an expert because it’s a matter of your life and so, it’s essential that you don’t take dementia so lightly since it increases as you age and it’s repercussions in future could make you feel worse and certainly, you don’t want that. Go ahead and make some healthy choices for yourself.
