Helping Yourself

Always remember that it is the disease causing the behaviour changes and you are not at fault. Losing the ability to control your feelings and thoughts does cause frustration and anger. 

To reduce the stress of coping with new things in your life, it may be better for others to ‘plant a seed’ that helps you to gradually come to terms with suggested changes and offers you autonomy to make your own choices. 

• Try to recognise the triggers that make you angry or irritable e.g. hunger, fatigue, pain, excessive noise/distractions or if you are having problems communicating. This can make situations easier to deal with and reduce the frequency of outbursts and troubling behaviour. Gather as much information as possible e.g. when does the problem occur, who is involved and what was happening before the behaviour? This helps you to find out exactly what is going on and explore resolutions, if possible.
• Incorporate set routines or predictable schedules into your day. Let others plan things out for you if necessary.
• Let people suggest things to you and ask them to keep information limited to one thing at a time.
• Ask people to give you time to answer questions one at a time to avoid confusion, rather than jumping in to put the question in another way or asking additional questions.
• Consider using distraction if you become fixed on a topic and ask family members to remind you about topics that have already been discussed.
• Make a list of priorities and work out what you can compromise on.
• If applicable, discuss any performance issues with your employer.
• Talk to your GP or Consultant to consider medication, if appropriate.