The Heartbreaking Plea of ‘I Just Want to Go Home’
Note: Updated knowledge includes the fact that the person living with dementia is just seeking comfort. Words are difficult and “home” for most people means comfort. Thus, wherever they are, if they are anxious, they might beg to go home. I believe that each time is different, so we need to consider this along with the other explanations.
…Remember that not every case of dementia is the same. My parents each had different forms of cognitive impairment, but fortunately, they never asked me to go home. However, since I was a daily visitor at the nursing home where they both resided, I did hear this plea from many other residents. I didn’t even know some of the people, but it was upsetting nonetheless. Of course, most of these people had Alzheimer’s disease.
Handling the Pleas to Go Home
Members of the AgingCare Caregiver Forum often ask how to handle these requests to go home. Many people initially take this desire at face value, especially from loved ones who are living in long-term care facilities. But, it’s important to understand that giving in to these appeals is not guaranteed to be successful.
Many families struggle with the decision to move their loved ones out of senior living and in with them, but this rarely pans out. Although the move makes sense logically, elders in the middle and late stages of dementia do not handle change well. It’s probable this person would become agitated and disoriented by yet another move and would still not consider it to be “home.” Unfortunately, this realization doesn’t make navigating such a heartbreaking routine any easier.
Caregivers and staff can gently remind a senior, “This is your home,” each time their anxiety increases. That’s okay, but it may not help much. If the person gets upset by…
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