A study published in 2022 indicates that 10% of American seniors have dementia, with almost one in three having some form of cognitive decline. As people age, they often lose their mental faculties.
If your loved one shows signs of cognitive decline, you may want to look into a memory care community. Such a community can help your elderly loved one retain autonomy and receive assistance when necessary.
How do you identify when you need to look for memory care for seniors in Oklahoma City? What signs suggest your loved one struggles with daily activities?
Keep reading. We’ll go over some of the biggest warning signs.
Daily Warning Signs You Need Memory Care for Seniors in Oklahoma City
The signs of cognitive decline start small. Most elders don’t start forgetting the names of their grandchildren over the course of a single week. Many of the indicators look like occasional absentmindedness at first.
Earliest Signs
While sometimes these occur due to fatigue or stress, the more often they occur, the more concerning they become. If these events sound like a daily part of your loved one’s life, consider specialized senior care.
- Struggling to perform basic tasks without assistance
- Increased difficulty remembering names and common nouns
- This causes greater concern if it includes family members, close friends, and household items
- Forgetting how objects work or losing them more often
- This causes greater concern if it affects items used in daily life
- Repeating questions much more often
- Getting lost
Use this list in the context of your loved one’s life. If your father has never kept good track of his keys, try not to overthink that. When you notice he keeps forgetting your children’s names, though, stop and assess.
Social Life Issues
Many dementia care tips focus on improving life in the home, and they do so with good reason. Many seniors spend large amounts of their time there. Memory and cognitive issues can show up in social situations as well.
Social health can help keep seniors’ minds active and reduce dementia risks. If your aging parent or other loved one hasn’t started showing signs of dementia, consider encouraging them to maintain social connections.
Isolation
Many seniors with memory and cognitive issues isolate themselves. Sometimes, they do so on purpose, while other times, they forget when a social obligation exists. Either way, cognitive decline and isolation go hand in hand.
Paranoia and Delusions
One of the least ignorable senior health signs comes in the form of paranoia and delusion. These occur when a senior’s cognitive decline leads to the formation of strong untrue beliefs. A senior may feel that someone intends to harm them or steal from them.
This doesn’t always present as a cartoonish fear of the mail carrier, though. Believing that any item that disappears has been stolen may seem smaller, but still constitutes a delusion.
Emotional Abuse
The mood, memory, and social difficulties associated with dementia can often lead to emotional abuse. You may feel like your loved one has become meaner-spirited or more aggressive.
Dementia can also intensify existing issues in the familial relationship. Elders who might have disagreed with you on things could start shutting you out or screaming at you. Consider whether your loved one has become more manipulative or hostile, both in daily life and at family events.
Intervention in these situations gets challenging. You may feel as though you have to swim against a tide to find care, as your loved one insists on independence while losing the ability to function. A memory care community can help.
More Obvious Signs
Some signs can appear to you even if you don’t live with your loved one. If you’re considering whether aging parent care is right for an elder you love, think back over the last year or so and consider if these events have become more common.
Forgotten Obligations
Does your aging parent forget to pick up your children from school for long breaks? Maybe an elder in your life calls you every few months, confused about why the phone company has disconnected the line, not realizing bills have gone unpaid.
If these incidents happen often and have no other explanation, you may need to look into elderly care services. While your loved one may instead have memory issues related to life stress or other medical problems, elder care can help address those as well.
Haplessness
Has your father left the stove on for hours without realizing it? Perhaps the last time you were at your aunt’s house, she bore a massive bruise on her arm from a fall.
Memory disruptions can often lead to these issues. Again, always remember to evaluate them in the context of your loved one’s life. If your aunt used to be a top athlete, you should worry more about that fall instead of writing it off as a one-time occurrence.
Conditions That Mimic Dementia
Not every instance of these issues comes from dementia. Consult with your loved one’s doctor to eliminate some of the following possibilities.
Vitamin Deficiencies and Medication Interactions
Chemical imbalances can lead to transient dementia symptoms. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause concentration difficulties. Many medications can also lead to brain fog.
Some short-term illnesses can also catalyze dementia in its early stages. Even cold and flu infections can push dementia along.
Medical and Psychological Conditions
Many medical conditions can also lead to memory and cognitive decline. Hypothyroidism and hydrocephalus often affect thinking. Post-traumatic stress disorders, common among aging military veterans, can have effects on recall.
Making Memories
Aging and dementia rank among the top fears for many people. You may feel like you’ve already lost a loved one when cognitive decline and memory loss rear their ugly heads. When you see these signs, you should consider seeking care for your loved one so you can make wonderful memories together for years to come.
If you need memory care for seniors in Oklahoma City, contact us at Dorset Place Senior Living. Our wide variety of floor plans can meet any senior’s needs. If you know your senior loved one needs assisted living or memory care services, check those boxes when you send us an email.
