Show me the way to go home

Show me the way to go home!

People living with dementia may be sitting in their own home or a space they’ve been used to for a long time and yet still saying, ‘I want to go home.’

Why?

Dementia damages memory and orientation. Places they have known well may feel unfamiliar and unsafe. They may believe they’re living in an earlier time in their life and so their current surroundings don’t look or familiar. This can cause great confusion and anxiety.

Rather than just responding with, ‘You are home!’. Believe that they feel lost (in space and time) and they’re looking for a place of comfort, belonging and most of all, safety.

Challenging the feeling can make the person feel more confused. Instead, try to validate their feelings - I can see you’re not feeling comfortable or It sounds like you’re not feeling comfortable or safe. Then distract - Tell me about your home. What’s your favourite part of your home?

Try to establish what they’re feeling; anxiety, loneliness, fear. Then work on how to change those to more positive feelings.

It may help to keep a log of the time of day this happens and what else happens or changes at that time.

Sometime ‘Sundowning’ is the answer. See seperate article.