Common sense says that when someone with dementia resists showering, you explain why hygiene matters. Remind them when they last bathed.
But shower resistance isn't about forgetting that hygiene is important.
The brain's disease-induced changes create reactions we'd might not predict: embarrassment about being nude, cognitive overwhelm from adjusting water temperature, feeling dangerously cold when undressing, even losing the memory of how to shower safely. “I don’t know how to do this!” “This is a terrible idea!”
So rather than engaging with the reasoning part of your loved one's brain—the part that is not functioning as well as it used to, you need to engage your loved one’s emotions. Reduce the strength of the discomfort and the fear and replace it with love.
I recently read a post on LinkedIn by Daniela Russo where she writes, "Showering is a neurological negotiation. Lower the light, warm the room, use familiar scents, soft voices—because when the body forgets safety, love has to remind it."
You can find Daniela’s post on showering here https://lnkd.in/gxZj5X6e
And you can get more helpful suggestions on challenging situations at TalkToLisa.com
