How Can You Deal with Outbursts from Your Senior?

By Shanele Healy | May 18, 2020 |

Experiencing an outburst from your senior family member can be an unpleasant part of your day. It can also be the only way she feels that she can express what she’s feeling, even if that’s a harmful way for her to do it. Here are some things you can try to make dealing with outbursts easier.

Avoid Using Guilt or Yelling

Home Care Charlotte, NC: Outbursts from Your Senior

Yelling, guilting, or otherwise trying to force your elderly family member to not have outbursts and tantrums isn’t necessarily going to work. It’s going to damage the trust that you’ve built up with your senior and ultimately it doesn’t solve whatever the underlying problem is. If you’ve got the urge to use any of these techniques, you might need a bit of a break from the situation yourself.

Remove Yourself from the Outburst

If it’s really difficult for you to keep your cool when your senior has an outburst, it’s important for you to remove yourself from the situation when you see that one’s about to start. You definitely need to keep your senior’s safety in mind, of course, but leaving the room or leaving her line of sight might be enough to allow you to take a deep breath and for her to wind down. Let your elderly family member know that you’ll be back when she’s calmer.

Wait for the Storm to Pass

After your senior has had a chance to calm down, talk to her about what’s happening. If she only has outbursts in specific situations, try to get an understanding about why that is. See what she’s willing to tell you about how she’s feeling when she loses her cool. There may be a lot about her own behavior that she doesn’t fully understand herself. Sometimes these outbursts can be a part of cognitive changes that might need to be addressed.

Make Sure You’re Taking Care of Yourself Regularly

If this is becoming more common for your elderly family member, make sure you’re taking the best care of yourself that you can. Dealing with someone else’s outbursts is not easy to do, either physically or emotionally. Taking respite regularly gives you a chance to recover so that you’re stable enough yourself to be able to face what’s happening. Home care providers can step in and provide care, letting you take care of you.

Talk to your senior’s doctor about what you’re seeing and about what’s happening. There can be medical causes for these types of situations.

If you or an aging loved one are considering in home care in Charlotte, NC, please call the professional staff at Caring at Heart today at (704) 379-7510. Serving Charlotte, Statesville, Ballantyne, Mooresville, Huntersville, Matthews, Concord, Gastonia, Pineville and Indian Trail

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Shanele Healy

Owner at Caring at Heart

Caring for others has always been a passion for the owner. She joined the healthcare field while still in high school believing that every health provider had the same intentions at heart. While working as a nurse assistant,Gloria quickly realized that those whom needed us most were being neglected and not receiving the best quality of care they deserved.
Knowing in her heart that families deserved better, she started Caring At Heart in 2008 with two key goals in mind: To provide clients and their families with an experience that was personable, easy, and reassuring and to create a working environment that employees were excited and proud to be a part of.