Cracking the Dementia Code: Creative Solutions to Cope with Changed Behaviours

By Karen A Tyrell

A New Creative Non-Drug Approach to Coping with Dementia

As exciting discoveries continue for Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias, hope for a cure remains.  In the meantime, day to day challenges continue for many families and caregivers.

Karen Tyrell offers her expertise to provide new ins

• Language: English
• Publisher: Personalized Dementia Solutions Inc.
• Release date: Sep 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9780995186620

Karen A Tyrell

Karen Tyrell is a Dementia Consultant & Educator and Founder of Personalized Dementia Solutions Inc. She is the author of "Cracking the Dementia Code - Creative Solutions to Cope with Changed Behaviours" (published in 2013). She is also the co-creator of the "Dementia Caregiver Solutions" iOS App (released in 2015) which has helped hundreds of caregivers to better care for individuals exhibiting common dementia behaviours. With 7 years of post-secondary education in the field of Gerontology as well as over 20 years of frontline experience, Karen has acquired deep practical skills and well-rounded knowledge which have enabled her to successfully support her clients. She is a lifelong learner, having taken several courses in dementia, psychology and leadership, including obtaining a certificate in Long-Term Care Management from the Canadian Healthcare Association. Before moving to BC in 2009 Karen was the Executive Director of the Alzheimer Society of Leeds-Grenville in Ontario, providing dementia support and education in her community. Previously, she held the role of Board President for the Society for 4 consecutive years. As the CEO of Personalized Dementia Solutions Inc., Karen shares her expertise through speaking engagements and dementia workshops for both families and frontline staff. She also facilitates family caregiver support groups and works one-on-one with caregivers to provide emotional support and practical creative non-pharmacological solutions to help alleviate everyday challenges associated with dementia. In 2015 Karen completed a yearlong contract to personally deliver her Cracking the Dementia Code™ Workshop (Fundamentals and Advanced) to staff at 22 care homes of a large Western Canadian company (independent, assisted living and residential care home sites). Supporting various community organizations is another way Karen is able to share her passion. She is an active member of the Tri-Cities Seniors Planning Network and she serves on the Board of the North Fraser Chapter of CARP as Vice-Chair. She also writes the monthly "Dear Dementia Solutions" column on the CARP national website. Karen continues to be inspired to be a creative change maker for those affected by dementia. Karen is very excited about her company's two new initiatives taking place in 2016: the publication of the first volume of her series "Therapeutic Colouring & Activity Books for Older Adults," as well as the launch of the first Canadian professional dementia designation training program for professional caregivers called Certified Dementia Care Provider - CDCP™.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Caring for You, the Caregiver

When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.

Maya Angelou

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease and/or other related dementias (ADRD) is not always easy. The acronym ADRD will be used regularly to refer to Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias throughout the remainder of this book.

As a family member, it may be difficult for you to realize that your role as daughter/son/wife/husband has now changed. Your previous relationship may have suddenly evolved into a role called ‘Caregiver.’ For many this is not an easy transition. Seeing your loved one change can be heartbreaking.

Caregiving can be very rewarding; it may also be stressful and challenging, regardless of whether you are a family member or a paid caregiver. Many of you already know this. The role may also be unacknowledged by others, including the person you are caring for. Before we go any further, I want to say ‘Thank you!’ You certainly deserve to hear this. Thank you for all you do; you are truly making a difference.

Being a caregiver (whether or not you have fully accepted your new role as such) will teach you many things about yourself and your capabilities. It can also take a toll on your physical, emotional and mental health.

This stress may take many forms. For instance, you may feel exhausted, frustrated, and angry taking care of someone who regularly exhibits difficult behaviours. As a family caregiver you may also feel guilty because you would like to be able to do more or provide better care, despite all the great things that you already are doing. Perhaps you are starting to feel lonely because all the time you spend caregiving has affected your social life.

I can’t stress this enough—it is critical that you make the time to take care of yourself and that you know when to reach out to others for help. This is because I worry about you and your wellbeing including your stress level. Based upon what I have learned about stress over the past few decades, stress can really make us sick.

Helpful Hint: Being a sick caregiver is not good for anyone!

Throughout this book, I want to assist you in getting through the stressful times. To do so, it is best to first understand stress and how it may be controlled. Before we begin, I invite you to take a deep breath.

Stress is a fact of life. It is the way we respond to stress that can have a negative effect on us. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), stress is defined as any change to which we have to adapt. Their website states, By understanding ourselves and our reactions to stress-provoking situations, we can learn to handle stress more effectively. Many events may trigger a stress response including both positive and negative changes, as well as internal and external stressors that take shape as real or perceived threats. Not all stress is bad. Yet, the effects of chronic stress tend to build up over time.

Ultimately, if you are stressed, your body will respond by altering the secretions of certain hormones and chemicals. Dr. David B. Samadi explains in his article Surprising Ways Stress Affects Your Whole Body published by Foxnews.com Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, inhibits functions that are a detriment to the ‘fight-or-flight’ response. Specifically, it alters the immune system response and suppresses the digestive tract, reproductive system and growth processes. If your immune system is not working properly then it may not be able to fend off invaders or infections in the body. Physical symptoms that may arise due to stress include migraines, ulcers, muscle tension, fatigue, sleep problems, obesity, memory impairment, worsening of skin problems, irritability, and depression. According to the CMHA, Canadian researchers found that chronic stress more than doubled the risk of heart attacks. Different people may feel stress in different ways. Being a sick caregiver is not good for anyone!

So how can we control our stress? According to the CMHA, the goal of managing stress is to signal the relaxation response inside your body. Breathing is one effective way to communicate with your body to inform it that you are relaxed and not feeling stressed. Good breathing habits will improve both your psychological and physical well-being. Exercise is another excellent way to reduce stress and cortisol levels, according to Dr. David B. Samadi. Learning several effective ways that work for you to cope with stress will help to ease your body and your mind. Yet, as a first step, you need to fully recognize what major stress feels like for