Protecting Your Loved-one from Information Overload
When you are caring for someone with a chronic illness, minimizing stress and anxiety makes for a healthier emotional environment for all. We are living in a time that disturbing events are happening in our world and we hear of tragedy every day.
Whether your loved one overhears distressing conversations, or watches the news and feels helpless to do anything, worry and agitation may result. It is even more disturbing for people living with dementia, because they have difficulty processing information. Below are some tips to help keep you and your family member from experiencing too much information during our challenging times.
- Monitoring television watching for people living with dementia is crucial. They can become easily confused about news stories they hear or the violent videos they see, and may think the events are happening down the street or at their son’s house who is living in another state.
- Whether your family member is experiencing confusion due to cognitive decline, or are just not able to discuss events thoughtfully, anxiety can result and may present itself as insomnia, restlessness, wandering, and even nightmares.
- Studies have linked viewing violence with an increased risk for aggression and anger.
- People who have memory loss will experience the bad event they see or hear about as if it were the first time they hear it every time. Be mindful of not sharing frightening or disturbing information repeatedly.
- When communicating with older adults, avoid overloading the person with information. Regardless of whether there is cognitive decline, studies show that older adults need more time to process information.
- As we adapt to the changes in our world, we hear and see more information than we can remember and process. Information overload can overtax our own working memory.
- Watching television is an activity many older adults have embraced throughout their lifetime. Sitting and watching comedies, nature shows, or vintage movies with your loved one can offer opportunities to connect and share joyful moments.
If you would like more information on our Memory Café of the services of our Memory Ministry, please contact Vicky Pitner at vpitner@firstumc.org.