Module 4: Understanding Emotional
Me & U-First!
…….. Understand me, a Person with dementia
Program Goal: “Using U-First!, every Person with dementia will have an improved
quality of life as a result of increased understanding and improved communication
between Partners in Care.”
Use these Notes pages to record key information for future reference. Combine the Notes
pages from all eight modules to create a Me & U-First! notebook. Add more pages if you
need them.
Remember that the narration and on-screen text are different. You may find it easier to
listen to the narrator first and then read the on-screen content.
Read the instructions on the U-First! Web site, click on the Notes page, and go through
the Help Module for tips on using the modules.
Remember! Keep Mimi and Joe’s P.I.E.C.E.S. TM charts handy and add what you learn
about their emotional well-being under the first ‘E’.
Module 4: Understanding the Emotional Aspects
of Aging and Dementia
Adjustment and Loss with Aging
A Person with dementia may be adjusting to many losses and adapting to changes such as
a diagnosis of dementia or the need to move to long term care.
Coping Strategies
How would you describe your coping style? How do you cope with stress?
A basic human need is to have meaningful activity. The key message for caregivers is to
avoid taking over too much as the Person may be left feeling bored or useless.
Mental Health
The stigma of mental illness or dementia may prevent someone from asking for help or
reporting their symptoms. They may be embarrassed about their symptoms or worry that
you will treat them differently.
Depression
Depression is a common mental illness that affects a Person’s thoughts, feelings,
behaviour and physical health. It is not just sadness or weepiness.
Have you interacted with a Person with depression?
What was that like?
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Module 4: Understanding Emotional
Many older people will not use the word depressed to describe how they are feeling. The
flags that you identify and share with your Partners can lead to assessment, diagnosis and
possible treatment.
The flags of depression:
S – sleep
I – interest
G – guilt
E – energy
C – concentration
A – appetite
P – psychomotor
S – suicidal ideation
Anxiety
The flags of anxiety:
Psychotic and other symptoms
Hallucinations:
Delusions:
Illusions:
Confabulation:
Some helpful observations to share with other Partners:
-Does the Person seem frightened for their safety?
-Are their symptoms upsetting to others? Is their family or room-mate frightened?
-Can the Person talk about other things or are they stuck on one idea?
-Is the Person acting on their belief? Some examples are refusing to eat because they feel
their food is poisoned or calling the police because they believe they are being robbed.
Tips
Spirituality
Each Person’s understanding of spirituality is unique to them and is not limited to an
affiliation with an organized religion.
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Module 4: Understanding Emotional
What do we Understand now about Mimi and Joe? Fill in their P.I.E.C.E.S. TM
charts!
Scenario: Mimi
Describe this scenario with Mimi:
Understanding: My knowledge that all behaviour has meaning.
“What is Mimi trying to tell me?”
Flagging: My observations of the Person’s behaviour.
“What am I seeing and what has changed?”
Interaction: How I relate to the Person, family/caregiver and other health care providers
“How does Mimi interpret what I say and do?”
Reflection and Reporting: My time to think about what I’ve learned about the Person,
the meaning of the behaviour and how what I share improves care
“What do others need to know from me to improve Mimi’s care plan?”
Support: My supportive and creative care strategies
“What am I doing to bring out Mimi’s strengths?”
Team: How the care team that I am a part of works in the best interest of the Person
“What can we do together?”
Summary
It is very important to understand the impact of emotional well-being on a
Person with dementia. Issues such as adjustment to loss, coping strategies,
mental illnesses such as depression and symptoms such as hallucinations and
delusions may be affecting the Person’s abilities and behaviour. The frontline worker may flag changes requiring assessment and treatment but also
adapt their interaction to be more supportive of the Person with dementia.
Reflecting on their experience with an individual with dementia and then
reporting their observations allows the whole team to contribute to an
accurate care plan for the Person.
The next Module is about Understanding the Person with dementia and
their capabilities. Use the ‘Back’ button to return to www.u-first.ca for
the next module or Resources.
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