Preparing for the Holidays: Care Partners for People Living with Dementia
With the holidays coming up, it is a time for family, friends, connections, and celebrations. Each family celebrates in different ways due to culture and traditions. When caring for someone living with dementia or cognitive changes, traditions may be shifted is some form. Traveling or celebrating may be difficult for individuals with health changes, maybe roles may be different from being the carer to being care for, or maybe there is still grieving from the recent loss of our loved one.
Validation
It is important to understand and know that the stress of being a care partner, or of being someone who just learned of their own diagnosis is a stressful and life changing experience. The holidays may in fact not be the same because of these changes, but that doesn't necessarily mean guilt or stress has to be tied into the holidays. It is important to validate your feelings and experiences and celebrate traditions in a way that accommodates to these changes. Instead of trying to move on, move with the changes and allow new traditions, celebrations and experiences to form with these changes.
Accommodate
Depending on the stages of care we are in, accommodation may take in different forms. Due to health changes leaving the home or town may be difficult, this may mean changes the location of the holiday celebration may be needed. Due to behavioral changes such as sundowning, this may change the time in which celebrations are done, instead of hosting in the evening it may be better to host in the morning or early afternoon. Try to meet yourself and your loved ones where they are at.
Understanding
Understanding can present itself differently for each situation. It is important to understand that the way celebrations take place are going to be different in some form. Understanding these changes can better prepare and allow for accommodation. Through understanding our needs, and our loved one's needs and how those needs will change it allows us to better move with these changes.
Appreciation
There is no hiding or denying that being a care partner is very stressful as it is, and with the holidays and celebrations these stresses can really affect our health physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. It's important to appreciate the little moments in between. Don’t wait for the holiday or the celebration to start for you to smile, but find ways to laugh and smile in the moments that lead up to the holidays and the moments after.
The significance and meaning for the holidays vary for each person. As we experience changes in our journey as care partners, sometimes adjusting can be really difficult to do. Exploring and discovering different ways that aid us in continuing to experience the holidays where the significance and meaning is still being upheld can be challenging, but it is not a journey one has to do in isolation.
Happy Holidays to everyone from Chrysalis Aging!
