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Dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by deterioration in cognitive ability. An individual with dementia has difficulty with memory, learning new information, planning activities and becomes increasingly dependent on others for their care. The impacts of dementia, however, aren’t limited to the patient alone, it also extends to the families of those with dementia.

So, how does one ensure the best care for a dementia patient? Are there any dementia caregiver tips that you should keep in mind? Where can you learn how to take care of a dementia patient?

Samvedna Care – Caregiver support for dementia patients in Delhi

If you are struggling to receive caregiver training on dementia in Delhi, then look no further, Samvedna Care is the place to be! With a host of services ranging from senior care services to healthcare, personal care services to counselling, home care programs to emergency support, Samvedna Care provides holistic care for all the elderly, especially to those with dementia.

Family Awareness Program

The first step in ‘how to take care of a dementia patient‘ is to accept their condition and learn more about it. At Samvedna Care, a brief medical review of the patient is conducted, which is then followed by a detailed assessment. This helps the patient and the family to understand the gravity of the disease. What follows this is a counselling plan for the patient as well as family.

Caregiver Enablement Program

Samvedna Care follows a team approach to dementia care, and their caregiver enablement program is an embodiment of that approach. It is a cost-effective solution to empower family caregivers to provide the best dementia patient care for their loved ones. Not only does this program include psychoeducation about dementia, but it also provides caregiver counselling and caregiver training on dementia by their specialists in Delhi. The caregiver is trained on various aspects of cognitive stimulation and is given valuable dementia caregiver tips. What’s more, on-call Caregiver for Senior is provided to them by a team of Samvedna Care’s specialists.

Caregiver Support Services

Caring for an increasingly dependent family member is not easy by far, and it demands the caregiver to invest most of their time in taking care of the dementia patient. All of this can leave the caregiver feeling emotionally and physically drained. Most caregivers tend to ignore the early signs of early caregiver stress, such as fatigue and irritability, which leaves them vulnerable to symptoms of depression and anxiety. Samvedna Care is not only an expert on providing dementia caregiver training in Delhi, but it is also an expert provider of caregiver services for individual caregivers and families in the whole of NCR.

Caregiver and Family Counselling

Most families and caregivers are never adequately prepared for the challenges that accompany dementia patient care. To support caregivers and families alike, Samvedna Care has a team of specialists that help them plan and make decisions to provide the best care for their loved one without feeling stressed and resentful.

There are full-fledged counselling sessions that help deal with caregiver stress. It is undeniably more important to first take care of your mental health than fulfilling your caregiving responsibilities.

Dementia Support Group

2021 was a year like none other. Covid-19 ensured that the world went through unprecedented uncertainty. Life, as we knew it changed forever as humanity tried to cope with the new normal.

It was a new virus that spread through contact or coughing and sneezing. Entire countries went into prolonged periods of lockdown and the way we lived, worked and did business had an overnight paradigm shift. One year later, the vaccine has arrived and is being administered in an orderly manner.

Life is slowly limping back to normal but it is safer to maintain a careful approach and observe precautions till the virus is completely eradicated. Senior citizens are always at a higher risk of complications and death. They must continue to remain safe and observe the safety protocol as before. Seniors are always more vulnerable because age weakens their immune systems and it is worsened by frailty or chronic illnesses like diabetes, lung, or heart disease. They need to be aware of emergency elderly care services that are available as well as daily precautions that they should take to manage the situation.

Seniors need to be prepared for any emergency at all times, especially if they are living alone. Here is a list of general tips on emergency preparedness for seniors. It could normally be medical emergencies for the elderly but it could be any other emergency as well. It is always better to be prepared.

8 Tips for Emergency preparedness for seniors

Exercise Caution

Keep medicines and groceries stocked up

Ensure the working condition of medical equipment

Don’t panic in case of a medical emergency

Stay safe, Do not encourage visitors

Ensure police verification of Caregiver  

Stay positive

Make your will

Tip 1 – Exercise Caution: Continue to observe Covid-19 precautions

Senior citizens should continue to stay at home to avoid unnecessary exposure to the virus. It is advisable to maintain social distancing at all times. Wearing a mask and washing hands should continue as a safety precaution. When people start moving out in large numbers and do not observe precautions, it becomes a risk for seniors to venture out unless necessary.

They can stay at home or if they wish to be monitored they can sign up for senior citizen home care services in Gurgaon/NCR. In case they go out, they should ensure that they do not touch any surface in public places like the handrail, walls, doors, etc. It is advisable to carry a hand sanitiser at all times. Elderly people can avail the attendant services in Gurgaon with Samvedna Senior Care.

Tip 2 – Keep medicines and groceries regularly stocked up

Running out of household essentials and medicines is avoidable as far as possible. Smartphone apps are available that deliver orders to the doorstep eliminating the need to go out physically. In case they are not tech-savvy, it is better to call the neighbourhood pharmacy and grocer and get the necessary stuff delivered at periodic intervals to avoid running out of stock at night. Samvedna Senior Care provides home care services for the elderly that are ideal for those who wish to stay at home but require assistance at times. Samvedna provides lab test facilities to take care of these needs.

Tip 3 – Ensure working condition of medical equipment

Seniors should keep sufficient stock of batteries at home so that their hearing aids and home testing machines for checking blood pressure, sugar, oxygen levels, etc. are in working condition. It is important to be prepared in case of any medical emergency to monitor the body’s vitals.

Tip 4 – Don’t panic in case of a medical emergency

In case of a medical emergency, senior citizens are advised to stay home, call the doctor and let them know about their problem. Due to Covid 19, telemedicine has got a huge push and a lot of doctors are providing this service. It is easy to keep a list of emergency helpline numbers handy. It should be stored on the smartphone. It should also be written in big bold letters and stuck on the wall in every room so that it is visible and easy to use. It is important to know when to call for emergency help. Get emergency services for seniors if you are not well or start to develop symptoms. Unless needed, it is not necessary to be hospitalized.

Samvedna Senior Care provides several emergency services for elderly including

Ambulance Assistance

24*7 On-call Helpline

Care Manager Support

Hospitalization Support

TPA clearance

Doctor’s Consultation

Samvedana Senior Care provides elder care services for senior citizens to take care of their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. They provide online counselling, telemedicine reviews, medical professionals on call, and logistic support for transfer to hospital, etc.

Tip 5 – Stay safe, Do not encourage visitors

Since we are still not in a position to claim that the coronavirus has been eliminated, it is important to maintain precautionary measures. Since seniors are especially vulnerable, they should avoid visitors and maintain social distancing. Wear a mask at all times when going out or coming in contact with workers at home.

Tip 6 – Ensure police verification of Caregiver  

It is extremely important for senior citizens living alone to get police verification done before getting caregiver services. They are easy prey for fraudsters and criminals and it is extremely risky to keep anyone in the house unless their antecedents are properly verified. Whenever senior citizens or their relatives employ caregivers to take care of the elderly, it is extremely important to get a police verification report as a precautionary measure. Samvedna Senior Care provides senior care services and even provides caregivers for seniors. They provide companionship and assist them with mobility. They help them with their daily activities, diet management, personal grooming and give them their daily medicines and injections.

Tip 7 – Stay positive

For the sake of their mental health and emotional wellbeing, senior citizens need to keep themselves active. They need to stay happy and positive and spend time playing board games like carrom, scrabble, ludo, etc. They can listen to devotional music and theological discourses to calm the mind. They can read a novel or watch a tv show or an old classic on Netflix. Meditation, chair yoga, Pranayam, and meditation are highly recommended.

Samvedna offers a Cognitive Wellness program and a Dementia cafe to manage the social needs of seniors in a non-threatening environment under the supervision of a clinical psychologist.

Tip 8 – Make your will

Senior citizens need to prepare a will detailing what needs to be done with their assets in the event of their passing away. It is important to ensure that this is prepared and kept in the bank locker or with the lawyer.

Samvedna has extensive experience in dealing with psychological and emotional issues faced by adults and the elderly. They offer counselling services that help elderly people and their children cope better with the challenges that come with old age.

Psychological interventions are effective in the treatment of mental and behavioural health disorders prevalent among elderly people. Therapy can help older people who may have difficulty with the transitions of ageing to manage their emotions, find new sources of enjoyment and meaning in life, and find new support systems. Samvedna has an elite panel of geriatric psychologists who will be able to provide consultation.

Grieving is never an easy process. Coping with the loss of a loved one is always difficult and heartbreaking. It is especially hard for the elderly when they need to cope with the pain of bereavement in their old age. For a senior citizen the loss of a spouse who was a partner, companion, and friend, could be devastating. Even if the actual passing away is after a long period of illness, the emptiness is unfathomable and in most cases unbearable. Though children try to provide solace, the person feels isolated. They start wearing the cloak of their sorrow and emptiness descends like a dark shadow.

At such times, availing counselling services for seniors may help them cope better with the loss.

The Importance of Counselling for Caregivers

It is important to provide them with the time and space to grieve. The grieving process may be emotionally draining for both the person and the caregiver. Grieving people cry easily and may have trouble sleeping. They often lose their appetite, have concentration issues, and may be unable to make prudent decisions. They can even experience health consequences during this period, some of which can even be life-threatening.

Apart from dealing with grief, the elderly also need to learn to cope with the new normal. Life is never the same again but it takes them a while to come to terms with that brutal fact. Some cope better than others and time is often the best healer. If the grieving process takes too long or moves to the depression phase, it is better to seek outside consultation. The healing process can be actively managed by availing professional counselling services for elderly.

A bereaved person faces a change in independence once the partner passes away. They don’t know how to deal with the change in status. There are new tasks to be done that may have been handled by the partner. The grieving partner may find the new tasks too overwhelming to deal with. In some cases, they may not even be equipped to handle the tasks, A feeling of helplessness grips them that may push them into the throes of depression.

In such a situation, they need to know that they are not alone. Sorrow is normal and is something that has to be endured and managed. The loss of dreams, the loss of plans with a loved one are all losses that need to be acknowledged and vented out. It is never a good idea for anyone to bottle up their sorrow and try to deal with it on their own.

Geriatric counselors help individuals and families to deal with issues related to the process of aging . Areas of concern include everything from the transition to retirement from active life and continues to the end of life. One of the central issues that the seniors need to cope with, is loss. Most people have their first experience with death when they are children. However, people deal with death much more frequently in their later years. It is particularly difficult to deal with the loss of spouse and longtime friends.

Talking to someone is the first step in the grief healing cycle. The elderly can choose from one of the following options:

Tap into the inner circle of family and friends: The first choice is to talk to family and friends – the close circle of people who know them well and have been around for most of their life. However, in many cases, they may be busy with their own lives and dealing with their problems. It is important to pick the right person to talk to, otherwise, the purpose of the conversation is lost and ends up having a negative impact.

One -on – one Senior Citizen Counselling: Several types of professional counselling services for the elderly are available. Trained professionals are available for geriatric counselling which can be offered in a one-on-one arrangement. This can take place at their home or the therapist’s clinic depending on the convenience of the person.

Group Programs: In some cases, group sessions are recommended for the elderly. Some people find it easier to open up in a group where they meet other people going through a similar phase and share experiences. They can join a grief support group that meets at periodic intervals. Samvedna offers Dementia Care group programs for the elderly.

Online Counselling for the Elderly: For those who cannot visit the counsellor personally, Samvedna provides online counselling via video calls and chats that can be of assistance and provide support and comfort in times of grief.

Counselling helps the grieving person to express their sorrow in words and participate in the process of self healing. It is a time consuming process and cannot be fixed overnight. Over a period of time, with the continued support and encouragement of the counsellor the elderly can accept the loss, mourn the loved one and get through this difficult phase in their lives.

How can you help as a caregiver to an elderly person?

If you have an elderly person who is sad or depressed, it will be good to spend some extra time with them. As a caregiver, it is important to watch out for symptoms of sadness and seek timely professional help from doctors or counselors to combat the symptoms of depression. Never underestimate the power of a kind word or a warm hug. Sometimes, a simple activity like watching a movie, playing a game, or browsing through an old photo album with them can dramatically improve their mental wellbeing. You can also get in touch with professional centres that provide counselling services for seniors and they will provide the necessary support.

Samvedna provides a range of counselling services for the elderly that includes:

Counselling at Centres

Age Related Disorder Counselling

Online Counselling

Family Counselling

Retirement Counselling

Caregiver Counselling

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