5 Ways To Deal With Difficult Aging Parents

It is our duty to look after our aged parents, who has brought us up with love facing all difficulties; however sometimes parents can become difficult as they age, due to problems of their own, health and their own irritable and difficult temperament. It is quite common for grown up children to sometimes say, “My parents drive me nuts”; there is nothing to feel guilty or unhappy about it. We can find ways to deal with our aging parents that are difficult.

5 successful ways to deal with difficult aged parents: 

1) It is not necessary that we have to sacrifice our sanity for the sake of looking after aged parents who fail to understand what we are doing for them and are demanding. It is not wrong sometimes to place ourselves first; we need to give consideration to what is best for us, our family and our peace of mind. It would also help to find others to delegate our responsibility at times; it could be a sibling or someone else close and loving to them. 

2) It is necessary to understand that we also have our limitations; you may find it time-consuming and emotionally wrenching at times to look after an aged parent who is declining before your own eyes. It is healthy and necessary to admit it to ourselves that we are not able to do the job of a primary caregiver well; there is nothing wrong to say, “No” or take the help of any other adult member of the family. 

3) Some aged parents find it very difficult to offer praise, appreciation and recognition for a caregiver’s job; this is especially true of parents that have been afflicted by dementia that leads to cognitive impairment and hampers the functioning of the brain. Such parents may also show behavioral changes like accusations, suspicion and nasty outbursts; it is best to ignore these behavioral changes and just do your duty well and not care for the parent’s approval.

4) Dealing with difficult aged parents also means appreciating our own efforts and loving ourselves for trying to help them. It is quite possible that you may feel guilty and doubt ourselves if we are not successful; it is futile to do so.  We should always try to sincerely love them, make their life manageable and improve their quality of life; then we should excel in the joy that we were brave to forge forward in the face of difficulty.

5) We all love and respect our parents and want to do everything to make them feel happy and fulfilled; this does not however mean that we should be lost in care giving, managing our own jobs, family and problems and directing others. We need to stop and do something to nurture our own bodies, soothe our spirits and pursue hobbies so as to get the strength to carry on and feel refreshed and rejuvenated