Tag Archive for: observing behavior

What can you do about anger and aggression in dementia?

Anxiety in people with dementia can often lead to agitation, which can lead to anger, aggression, and situations that can be dangerous for caregivers.

It’s easier to prevent anger and aggression in dementia than to defuse it once it has started. Using observation or behavior logs to identify patterns of behavior can help you figure out what’s causing it and develop strategies to try to prevent it and keep yourself safe.

Common causes of anger or aggression in dementia

  • Most often anger and aggression in dementia occur during personal care such as bathing, going to the toilet, or dressing. Frequently the person misunderstands the situation. She may feel threatened by someone trying to remove her clothes or touch her private areas, or feel humiliated, causing her to lash out.
  • Feelings of frustration, loss of control and fear can lead to angry responses. People who had tempers earlier in life may have more trouble controlling their tempers now. When they feel threatened or that their privacy is invaded or when they are having trouble doing a task, they may be quick to anger.
  • Feeling that one is being treated like a child, or that control is being taken away, can lead to anger. Most of us like to be in control of our own lives but dementia gradually takes that control away. Even though the disease is causing the problem, the anger is usually directed at the family member of caregiver.
  • Being told “no.”
  • A tense or angry environment is likely to prompt similar responses in people with dementia. Despite dementia, people are often sensitive to the “emotional environment” at home or in a care setting and will quickly pick up on other people’s tension or anxiety.
  • Sensory overload—too much clutter, too many people talking, too much loud television or radio, intense television shows—can overwhelm or frighten people and lead from anxiety and agitation to acting out aggressively.
  • Poor communication by a caregiver can lead to angry responses.
  • A fairly sudden change in behavior may have a physical cause. A urinary tract infection can trigger bizarre behavior or delirium. Arrange a medical evaluation to screen for infections, medical illnesses, medication changes or side effects that could be contributing to the problem.

Strategies to try for anger or aggression in dementia

  • Think about how to give your relative as much control as possible over decisions and situations that make her angry.
  • Try not to say no. Think of other ways to phrase things.
  • Don’t argue. You won’t win and this frequently leads to anger.
  • Do you sound patronizing or condescending? People with dementia are very quick to pick up on tone of voice and feel demeaned by it.
  • Try to figure out the feeling behind the behavior. Responding to the feeling is often one of the most helpful things you can do. “Molly, you sound so frustrated. I am sorry you are having such a hard time with this.” While you are not solving the problem, Molly knows you are listening to her. “Dad, you seem upset. Let’s sit here together for a few minutes. I will be here to help you. You are not alone.”
  • During personal care and other tasks, explain step by step what you are doing. “Dad, I’m going to help you take your pants off now.”
  • Create and maintain a calm, consistent environment.

Staying safe when your relative is angry or aggressive

  • Call for help if you feel the situation is really out of control or you feel threatened. This might be a neighbor or family member. Call 911 if you feel you are in danger.
  • Stay calm. Don’t raise your voice.
  • Don’t argue.
  • Back off. Leave the room if need be. If you feel threatened, leave the house and go to a neighbor’s.
  • Don’t get trapped. Keep yourself between your relative and the door so you can escape if you need to. If this is a frequent problem, talk with your relative’s doctor or consider whether it might be time to think about residential care.

Beth Spencer and Laurie White

Authors of Coping with Behavior Change in Dementia and Moving a Relative with Memory Loss

When people can’t speak, behavior speaks for them

Behavior in people with dementia is a form of communication. When it’s no longer possible to express feelings through words, behavior speaks for them.

As dementia progresses, your relative may be unable to find the right words to say what she wants to say or ask. She may lose her train of thought or withdraw from conversations and social events because she can’t keep up or comprehend what other people are saying. And multiple conversations, loud noises or activities can be overwhelming. We knew one woman who would hold her head and moan whenever there were too many people in the room. Without using any words to describe the problem, she made her feelings perfectly clear!

The bottom line is: behavior is the language to learn as your relative with dementia loses communication skills. Pacing, wringing hands, moaning, are telling you something. Likewise, angry outbursts, anxiety, or aggression.

Learning to observe behaviors can help you understand what is behind them. When you understand the root cause of a particular behavior, you can try various strategies to address it. We call this the Behavior Detective approach. You can learn more about how to practice it here and here.

What are these behaviors?

Anxiety appears to increase among many people as they grow older. It’s easy to understand why your relative might be feeling anxious. Imagine not being able to hold onto memories or keep track of what’s happening, to have the world gradually become an unfamiliar, confusing and unpredictable place. Anxiety is not the same as anger, but especially when untreated, anxiety can lead to agitation, which in turn may lead to anger and aggression.

Agitation expressed through behaviors such as pacing, wringing one’s hands, crying or making loud repetitive noises, or trying to go home can indicate distress. Physical illness can cause or increase agitation. Many of us are anxious, agitated or irritable when we are sick and this is even more pronounced in people with dementia.  Pain can cause agitation. Sitting too long can cause it! Both anxiety and agitation can be a side effect of medications or changes in medications. Being tired, bored, frustrated, needing to go to the bathroom—all of these can trigger agitation.

Anger and aggression can be caused by the disease or by untreated depression.  People who had tempers earlier in life may have more trouble controlling their tempers now, especially when they feel threatened or are having trouble doing a task. Loss of control is another trigger. We like to be in control of our lives and schedules. Dementia gradually takes that control away. Feeling that one is being treated like a child or that control is being taken away can lead to anger. So can being told no.

Bathing, dressing and going to the toilet can be ground zero for anger and aggression. Frequently the person misunderstands the situation. She may feel threatened by someone trying to remove her clothes or touch her private areas, or feel humiliated that she needs help.  This often leads to feelings of frustration, loss of control and fear….which can lead to anger. Poor care partner communication—using too many words, a condescending tone, or approaching a person out of a person’s range of vision—can lead to angry responses.

Those angry responses are usually directed at the family member or caregiver. What can you do? Work on prevention! After a certain point, the person is probably not able to control his or her behavior. It will be up to you to observe the behavior, try to find a pattern, and then craft a way to respond that lessens or prevents anxiety, agitation, anger, and aggression. Your career as a Behavior Detective is beginning.

Beth Spencer and Laurie White

How to become a Dementia Behavior Detective, Part 2

managing challenging dementia behaviorsIn Part 1 of Becoming a Dementia Behavior Detective, we talked about how observing and logging challenging behaviors can help you discover the reason for distress in a relative with dementia—and then begin to figure out how to make changes that prevent or lessen a challenging behavior.

This is a key concept of our book Coping with Behavior Change in Dementia.  Because people with dementia who cannot clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings use their behavior to communicate, we caregivers need to become detectives. Like detectives, we need to observe, investigate, and draw conclusions from what we are seeing. We watch a challenging behavior over several days, taking notes in a simple record or log, to try to identify a pattern that helps us figure out the cause.

Previously we discussed the story of George and Ann.  Ann often gets agitated in mid-afternoon, frustrating both George and Ann and making them lose their tempers. To help understand what was happening and try to see whether he could devise a solution, George began to take notes on where and when the behavior occurred.

 

When Who was there? Where and what was going on? What was the behavior? What I tried and what happened
Saturday 3:00 I was with Ann Watching TV with me in my office while I read a book. Anger and agitation I yelled at her. She yelled back and threatened to hit me.
Sunday 2:00 I was with Ann We were in my office. I left Ann sitting on the sofa and moved to work at my desk. Ann became upset and started pacing. I ignored her, but Ann became more agitated and started crying.
Monday 4:00 I was with Ann I was taking a nap in our bedroom. Ann became upset and yelled at me because I would not get up. I asked Ann to lie down with me. I stroked her back and she calmed down for a short while.

 

From George’s behavior log, we were able to come up with a number of possible causes for Ann’s behavior and strategies for responding to it. Violent or disturbing TV shows may be one reason. Based on what we know about a typical day for Ann and George, she may be hungry, or not be eating enough protein. Perhaps George needs to limit Ann’s caffeine intake, or give in and give her more sugar!

Other possible strategies to consider:

  • George might try working in his office in the morning when Ann is calmer. If he can focus on his work, he may have more patience for Ann because he is not worried about getting his work done.
  • He could hire a companion for Ann at that time of day. Ann’s behavior is understandably stressful for both of them.
  • He could ask a friend or neighbor to be with Ann.
  • Ann might enjoy attending a day program where she could be with other people and participate in activities.

If all else fails, George should consult a doctor. If the level of agitation continues or increases, and puts both Ann and George at rick, it may be time to talk about a medication to reduce the agitation and anger.

Ask for help

If keeping a log is not feasible for some reason, or if it doesn’t yield clear results, find someone to help you systematically analyze the behavior. A friend, family member or a health care professional may be able to assist with this. Your local Alzheimer’s Association chapter may have someone available who can help.

The more minds the better!  Brainstorming with others can help identify many possible causes and solutions. Some, of course, you will rule out, but your list will lead to a number of strategies to try.

When you sit down together, make a list of possible causes of the behavior. Think broadly. Perhaps it would help to categorize causes. In this story, George could sort the causes into physical, emotional, and environmental causes.

We firmly believe that many of the most challenging behaviors may be minimized when caregivers learn how to identify root causes and try strategies that are known to help some people with dementia much of the time. For us, medication is the last resort. By becoming a Dementia Behavior Detective, you will find strategies that work to prevent or lessen the behavior—and lessen your relative’s distress as well as your own.

Beth Spencer and Laurie White

My mother refuses to take her medications. What should I do?

Refuses to take medicationPeople with memory loss often refuse medications for many different reasons.  A place to start is by trying to figure out why your mom is refusing to take them.

 

 

Possible reasons might include:

  • She doesn’t understand why she needs to take them.
  • She is afraid they might hurt her.
  • Saying ‘no’ is a way to have some control of her life.
  • She has never liked taking medicine.
  • She doesn’t trust the person who is giving them to her.
  • She is having trouble swallowing them.
  • The medications don’t taste good.
  • There are too many medications.

What can you try?

You can see that your approach to this is going to depend, to some extent, on why she is refusing to take them.  Sometimes a simple reminder of what the medicine is for is all that is needed. “Mom, Dr. Jones says this pill is what is keeping your heart beating regularly.  He wants you to take them.”

If it is a control issue, think about ways to give her a little more control: “Would you like your medicine now or after breakfast?” If this is where she is taking a stand, can you make it more casual and less of a power struggle? “Mom, your pills are in the cup on the counter when you are ready for them.” Sometimes putting the medications in a cup near her meal is a good reminder that she needs to take her pills. Keep in mind if she has to take her pills before, after or with food.

If she is afraid or a little bit paranoid, you will need a different approach.  Use the Behavior Detective Approach to pinpoint the times of day when she is most likely to be agreeable and try to give them to her then. You might need to back off and try again later.

Other things to think about:

  • Does she need all the medicine she is taking? Can it be simplified? Are the pills prescribed for multiple times of the day? If so, you might want to talk to the doctor or pharmacist to see whether it’s possible to take them once a day or in a different form. The doctor for one elderly woman with dementia dropped her cholesterol medication, her vitamin and her calcium because she was overwhelmed by the number of pills and refusing to take them. He felt these were the least important in the long run, unlike her blood pressure pills.
  • Ask the pharmacist if the medication comes in a different form. A liquid or patch might be easier than a pill, if available.
  • Can the pill be taken with food or crushed in pudding or ice cream? Sometimes it can be hidden or disguised if it’s something the person really needs but refuses to take.
  • Is this becoming a battleground between you? Is your body language and frustration adding to the problem?

While our book Coping with Behavior Change in Dementia: A Family Caregiver’s Guide offers many strategies for addressing challenging behaviors like this, sometimes there is no good solution.  All you can do, as your mother’s caregiver, is your best.

Beth White and Laurie Spencer