The holidays are upon us, as we look forward to family reunions and celebrations. They are a time for rejoicing, reminiscing and often reflection. But for someone living with dementia, the holidays may be quite the contrary. Family assemblies, maybe grandchildren running around, the constant din of a TV, the early sunset, can all lead to a confused, anxious, stressful state of mind for our LOs with dementia. Caring for someone with dementia at home can, likewise, be stressful for the caregiver and family. Are the holidays more of a burden than a blessing?
We know that a change in environment, surroundings, or routines can have a negative effect on someone who is already struggling with the brain changes they're experiencing. So as not to offer a litany of suggestions to better “survive” the holidays on this post, you might want to consider Teepa Snow's advice to make the celebration shorter, smaller and simpler. There are many YouTube videos that can help make this special time more enjoyable. Simply go to YouTube and search “dementia holidays”, or just Google “dementia holidays” for many other websites. I wish you all a joyous holiday season.
Heck, I can't deal with all the chaos that comes with the season, I can't imagine how difficult it would be with a broken brain.
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Are you trolling to elicit an angry response? First, I'm not looking for you to say anything. My post is merely a reminder to caregivers that holidays can be a stressful time for those with dementia. Thanks for reading it. Second, thank you for your definition of litany. A litany is simply a long list of things. As for the insincerity of litanies, I think many churches would discontinue their litany of prayers, don't you think? I could cite a litany of ways to use the word in a sentence other than how you described, but I won't bore you. And I still wish you a joyous holiday season.
"If you describe what someone says as a litany of things, you mean that you have heard it many times before, and you think it is boring or insincere."
How to respond?
You said: "So as not to offer a litany of suggestions to better “survive” the holidays on this post", what do you want?
I don't understand....but I am willing .........
We cooked all the food and ate lunch with momma and dinner with aunt. The rest of the family can visit a little at a time.
We all enjoyed a less hectic celebration and had great fun sharing some wonderful memories.
Both ladies have issues with mobility so it was far easier to go to their homes. We have 6 young grandchildren which makes for a lot of activity and noise.