What Dementia Behavior is Most Difficult and Why?

Diane Carbo

Sep 17, 2023 — 5 min read

Difficult Behaviors Associated with Dementia

What is Dementia?

Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of conditions that cause changes in a person’s thinking, emotions, and behavior. The different types of dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. While the causes of dementia vary, all involve damage to brain cells.

Dementia can progress rapidly or slowly, and symptoms may worsen over time. As the condition advances, it can lead to severe memory loss, confusion, and difficulty in everyday activities. In addition, personality changes, including increased anxiety, agitation, aggression, and depression, often accompany dementia.

Dementia can have a significant impact on both the person living with the condition and their family and friends. It is essential that those who are caring for someone with dementia are aware of the difficulties they may face as the condition progresses.

Difficult Behaviors Associated with Dementia

The progressive nature of dementia can lead to significant behavior changes. These may be difficult for caregivers to manage or understand, making it a challenging experience. Common behaviors associated with dementia include agitation, aggression, delusion, hoarding, and wandering.

Agitation can range from mild restlessness to intense physical and verbal outbursts. It is usually linked to anxiety caused by changes in environment or routine, or the person feeling overwhelmed. Aggression can manifest as physical or verbal outbursts. It is often an expression of frustration or fear.

Delusions occur when reality and perception are mixed up. This manifests as unusual or incorrect beliefs that often don’t make sense to others. Hoarding is common for people living with dementia and refers to the collection of irrelevant items in the home.

Wandering is another difficult behavior. It may occur due to the person needing to get away from something, searching for something, or becoming confused about where they are. It is important to make sure their environment is safe and secure to reduce the potential for accidents or getting lost.

Hallmark Dementia Behaviors

Caregivers of those with dementia often face many difficult behaviors from their loved ones. These behaviors can range from verbal outbursts to physical aggression and can be especially challenging for family members. Some of the hallmark dementia behaviors that typically cause the most difficulty include:

Repetitive questioning or statements
Anger, agitation, and aggression
Wandering and restlessness
Impaired judgement and insight
Difficulty in communication
Confusion and disorientation
Delusions or hallucinations

These behaviors can be very confusing and difficult for caregivers to manage. They often require special attention and care in order to be managed properly.

Causes Behind Challenging Behaviors

As dementia progresses, behavior changes often develop and can become one of the most difficult aspects of caring for a loved one with dementia. These behaviors may include repeating questions, frustration, aggression, fear, confusion, and hallucinations, all of which can become extremely challenging for caregivers to handle.

It is important to understand why these behaviors occur and what might be behind them. One of the most common causes is communication issues, as people with dementia often have difficulty expressing themselves due to impaired language skills and memory loss. In addition, environmental factors can play a role in challenging behaviors, such as distractions, noise, too much stimulation, or unfamiliar surroundings. Finally, physical factors can also be a cause, such as pain, fatigue, hunger, thirst, and discomfort.

It is also important to consider the emotional state of the person with dementia. As the condition progresses, the individual may become increasingly anxious, fearful, frustrated, or angry. This can be a result of disorientation, confusion, or a lack of understanding of their changed reality. In addition, they may be reacting to feelings of loneliness, sadness, or grief caused by the gradual losses associated with the progression of their condition.

Coping Strategies to Help Manage Difficult Dementia Behaviors

When it comes to managing difficult dementia behaviors, the key is to understand why they are occurring and what approaches can be utilized to better handle them. Here are some strategies you can use to help ease the burden and care for someone with dementia:

Stay Calm and Compassionate. It’s easy to become frustrated or overwhelmed with a loved one’s difficult behaviors, but it's important to remember that these behaviors are a part of the dementia and not due to any malicious intent. Always stay calm and approach the situation with empathy.
Identify Potential Triggers. Understanding why certain behaviors are occurring can take some trial and error, but by keeping an eye out for triggers, you can often prevent difficult behavior from arising. Common triggers could include changes in environment, hunger, fatigue, sensory overload, fear, or frustration.
Provide a Distraction. Redirection to a calming activity such as listening to music, playing a game, or reading a book can often help distract from difficult behavior. Keep in mind that each individual responds differently.
Care for Yourself. Caring for someone with dementia can be a demanding task. Be sure to take the time to care for yourself - whether that means delegating tasks, taking time out for yourself, or seeking professional help. Self-care is essential for maintaining your own mental health.

These coping strategies can help you manage difficult behaviors associated with dementia and make life a bit easier for you and your loved one. Remember that everyone has different needs, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. With patience and understanding, you can find approaches that work best for your unique situation.

A Guide to Navigating Difficult Dementia Behaviors

Caring for a loved one with dementia can be an incredibly challenging experience. As the condition progresses, changes in behavior can become more difficult to manage and can be distressing and overwhelming for both the person living with dementia and their caregivers.

This guide has touched on some of the most common behavioral changes associated with dementia, as well as some of the challenging behaviors that can arise as the condition progresses. We hope it has provided insight into the causes of these behaviors and offers practical strategies that can help make caregiving easier.

Above all, it is important to remember that dementia is an incredibly complex condition and that each individual’s experience is unique. It is also important to keep in mind that difficult behaviors are often an expression of unmet needs, or an attempt to communicate something important. By being mindful of this, caregivers can take steps towards understanding the individual situation and use tailored approaches to help better manage challenging behaviors.