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Hello! Just wanting some advice on dealing with my grandmothers negative demeanor when it comes to her boredom. There is a 50 yr age gap between us and she doesn't understand that my brain requires more stimulation than watching her movies all day. She shoots down any suggestions that we can do together with the exception of puzzles & gets downright angry when I spend some "me time" on myself so I don't burn out. She goes as far as telling me "if you don't want to be here, leave!". Been live in caring for her for 4 mos now and she has turned into a different person, this is something my other relatives warned me about as they all burnt out caring for her. I am trying my best to not lose patience with her as she has no one else to give the level of care that she should be given, she refuses a home care situation. Overall since I have been here her doctor has said things like you look much better and her over all health has improved due to regular meals and timely medicine intake but her negative demeaner is getting the best of me. I understand it hasn't been very long to care for someone but I have been on my own since 15 and this dynamic is completely new to me. Any advice helps!

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To specifically answer your posted question: you are not responsible for your Grandmother's happiness. You do not need to be her entertainment committee. What would help you better engage with your grandmother is knowing if and how much cognitive/memory decline she has. What you describe as her "demeanor" sounds a lot to me like dementia behavior and/or depression/anxiety. If this is the case, is she being treated for her depression/anxiety? Because there are meds that will help her and it would be merciful for her to not have to exist in that mental state. It won't get better with time, only worse. If she has dementia then the following will help guide how you interact with her...

Rules for engaging our loved ones with dementia:

1) Agree, do not argue

2) Divert, do not attempt to reason

3) Distract, do not shame

4) Reassure, do not lecture

5) Reminisce, do not ask “Do you remember…?”

6) Repeat, do not say “I told you”

7) Do what they can do, don’t say “you can’t”

8) Ask, do not demand

9) Encourage, do not condescend

10) Reinforce, never force


The overall goal should be to:

Keep them as calm and peaceful as possible (because they are less and less able to bring themselves to this state on their own).

You can create tasks for her: I have my 99-yr old aunt folding a large pile of kitchen towels and also sorting plastic utensils and colored poker chips. This gives people with dementia a sense of purpose, it uses up time and it burns both mental and physical energy so they may sleep better at night. You can come up with other tasks, like chopping vegetables, etc.

In general response to your post: the caregiving arrangement needs to work for both the receiver and the giver. If it is onerous to the caregiver, then the arrangement is NOT working. Alternative types of care must be considered to avoid caregiver burnout.

Teepa Snow is an expert in dementia and has lots of great education for caregivers on her YouTube channel.

Who is your Grandmother's PoA? Does she have one? If not, ideally she should create one so that she can continue to receive care by her family. She needs to be encouraged to do this before her dementia advances to the point where she legally cannot create one. If there's no PoA and her health/living conditions worsen to the point of crisis and she resists help, then eventually the county will need to acquire guardianship and then they make all the decisions, not the family.

I'm hoping that your family is paying you a realistic wage for your services? If not, they should be. And there should be a written employment contract. You're not just "watching out for Gramma", you are a full-on caregiver which has a lot of responsibility. Burn out is a real thing. Do you have days off? Blocks of time off for vacation? Sick days? Work no more than 40 hours? Who will care for Gramma if you need a sick day? If you don't come at this as an employee, your family will (consciously or unconsciously) take advantage of your free "help" yet it will come at a cost to YOU. You are too young to be roped into being the "solution" for Gramma's care. Please read some of the other posts on the Burnout topic on this forum. I wish you much wisdom and courage as you work out this arrangement with your family.
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bundleofjoy Dec 2021
:) i agree with you geaton --
i just want to add, regarding the 10 rules of dealing with someone with dementia.

there are some elderly people (dementia or not) who are simply very, very sadistic/abusive/negative, want to torture their sweet caregiver (in particular a female relative). they love torturing female relatives (daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, etc.).

no matter what you do (agree, divert, distract, disappear, come back later)...some elderly people will insult you/torture you/abuse you/scream/threaten/lie/cause trouble, etc...

depending on just how negative the LO is, this WILL destroy you.

don't think you can somehow feel less pain, or create an armor around you. this WILL destroy you.

it's not just about the screaming/negativity/insults/etc., which will take weeks every time to shake off.

it's the millions of positive missed life opportunities, while you're busy reading up on how to heal, how to overcome negativity.

time and energy spent on that.
rather than on building your life.

look at the happy, successful people around you -- they're lucky in the sense that they're not spending much time with someone who's torturing them.

in little doses, one can sort of survive.
but even little doses of abuse/constant negativity ARE damaging.

----

protect your life.
if you see yourself frowning every day, you must make a change.

some unhappy people intentionally and consciously want their family members to be miserable.
you can tell whether it's intentional, because they don't behave the same way, with some non-family (for example doctors).

someone who really doesn't know what they're doing, behaves the same way towards everyone.

----

if you're miserable, frowning, feeling down, they're happy.
there's someone next to them miserable, hopefully more miserable than them, that's what some elderly people think.

if you're bubbly and smiling, watch out.
they'll try to destroy it.

----
of course not everyone.
i'm saying, some elderly people do this.

----
i'm also saying, it WILL affect you, destroy you, in some way or other.
it's not possible to be totally happy and full of life, and feeling great, with someone bringing you down constantly.

it's not by chance, that some evil people for generations have studied how to psychologically torture + destroy someone. it's because it works.

----

hug!!!

in the same way, however, positive and encouraging people also affect you, and make you feel good!

stay close to kind people.
avoid mean people, if possible. if not possible, find a way to protect yourself.

make yourself unavailable.
personally, i don't mean totally cutting off.
but less available.

----
so, OP, how do you deal with her boredom?

i would say this:
LET YOUR SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS, BE HER JOY AND EXCITEMENT.

be successful and happy.
work on this.

and achieving that, should make her extremely excited and happy.
and if it doesn't...

well, if she loves you, it would.
---


pre-new-year hugs!! :)
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Newhere- how did you come to be her caregiver? Did you need a place to live? Were you unemployed?

Grandmother can refuse a homecare situation, it's her right, but it's not her right to make you her homecare provider or anyone else. You should leave this situation asap. The longer you stay, the harder it will be to leave.
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Newhere Dec 2021
I came to be her caregiver as all other family are exhausted of her and she asked if I could help her as all but one of her children are gone. Me seeing this as opportunity to spend time with her and learn about family etc willingly decided to assist. I did not require a place to live or job as I moved states to assist her. I know she doesn't have power over me when it comes to large decisions as I have made my own life decisions without her advice or that of a mother. It was just with such a quick temperament change once I was at her "disposal" I figured I would ask for some experienced advice before on how to handle the elderly when it comes to these types of situations.
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The questions about why you are doing this and what is in it for you, are important. Self-sacrifice is not a good idea, and an 84 year old can live for another 15 years. However, assuming that this is where you are, you need to establish some boundaries. There is a great book actually called Boundaries (try your library for a free copy), but you can also work out your own. It should include some time on your own, as well as what you do for Grandma and what she does herself. Be aware that doing too much is NOT good for either of you. Grandma also needs to keep doing as much as she can, for the sake of her own independence and health.

At the moment, if she says "if you don't want to be here, leave!", take her at her word. Just say ‘OK I’m going out for 2 hours’, or ‘OK I’ll be reading in my room, call me if you want me’. Leaving doesn’t have to be forever.

Don’t expect too much appreciation from her. Many older people get to take out all their troubles on the person who is closest and doing most. You need to develop a tough skin to cope. Love, Margaret
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Christservant Dec 2021
Great advice.

I watch this video twice a day
10 Tactics to Put a Narcissist in Their Place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7a0HjVlD7g and put into practice what they are teaching.

Boy has my stress level ever gone down
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Those elders who gripe loudest about going into managed care are the same ones who harp on being B-O-R-E-D all the time, expecting one person to be their entertainment committee 24/7. Think about it; such a demand is totally unrealistic and outrageous, yet here you are, expected to be a one-man juggling act for a 'lonely' elder who's 'bored' but refusing to move into a situation where she'd have people to socialize with all day long, activities to participate in all day long, meals served to her all day long, etc etc.

I want to win the lottery too, but that ain't happenin' either.

My advice is to move out and on with your life. Grandma needs to move into managed care where she can be 'bored' and complain to the other residents who will all agree with her that there's 'nothing to do' in this place and 'the food is horrrrrrrrible' too.
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Great advice from the previous answers. I just want to add that when my mom had to live with me, she was 86 at the time, her behavior was very similar to your grandmother’s. Her health declined after a couple years and I had to put her in a nursing home where her negative demeanor quickly led to a prescription for Lexapro. Both her health and attitude improved considerably after that. As an outpatient, her sweetened behavior in the doctor’s office didn’t compel that prescription, and I couldn’t convince her to ask for an antidepressant.

Newhere, if you’re this challenged after 4 months, then this is NOT the role for you. Reconvene with the family about the timing of your exit and move on.
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BWSeattle Dec 2021
ventilatte707 - thanks for your post! My Dad gripes about being bored all the time and I'm probably 90% of his human contact, so it's exhausting. Your depression comment is exactly what's happening to us - my Dad is anxious and depressed - very isolated and had to move out of his house/town at the start of the pandemic, which he blames on me. I've offered all sorts of activities, but he doesn't show any interest or take any action. Just like your Mom, my Dad tells every healthcare professional that he's "fine" and fills out the depression questionnaires like everything is going great because he doesn't want to complain to his doctors - he has cancer and he gets treatment 1-2x/week, so he's seeing A LOT of healthcare providers. I know he would benefit from an antidepressant and I've confidentially begged his doctors to prescribe one, but they don't dig deeper when he says he's "fine."

Newhere - I have found some relief in taking days off and shifting some responsibilities to others - e.g., I found a housecleaner for him, which he resisted but I didn't give him a choice. I'm also working on transportation to his doctor appointments - also not giving him a choice. As a primary caregiver you may have less ability to step away but I hope you can try. I've also started to be very consistent with questions like "I know you miss doing X, but what do you want to do now?" or "I know you find Y boring, so what can you do today to distract yourself?" I'm trying to show him that he is in control of his own life satisfaction and I also don't engage when he complains about being bored. The other comments here that your physical and mental health are just as or more important than your Grandma's health are 100% true - it's hard not to be dragged down by the negativity, so hopefully you can ignore those comments and/or leave for hours at a time. Sending you huge hugs!
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Like many others here have said, you have a life ahead of you and need to find alternatives. She could live another ten years! You can’t live like this. Then where would you be. You are in a difficult position since you are so much younger—it’s easy for her to be so dismissive of you. Start to create boundaries. Call your local Area Agency on Aging for ideas and support. Get Power of Attorney drawn up while she’s fairly well together. Maybe she will qualify for aids to come in periodically to give respite though it sounds like she’ll be really cranky about it. Keep us posted and don’t hesitate to come back to let us know how you’re doing! Good luck!
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Newhere, are you being paid?

Kudos to you for being able to survive on your own since age 15 and for enduring what seems like very difficult family circumstances with both your compassion and integrity intact. That said, I am concerned you may be letting yourself be taken advantage of as a result of all that you’ve been through.
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Newhere: Imho, you CANNOT nor should not be your grandmother's entertainment committee as you are doing everything else. Ergo, wherein lies the time or energy? There is none.
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My own mom is constantly complaining about boredom and loneliness. She lives alone and will not consider any caregivers. Forget a nursing home or assisted living. She is a private person, and will not make any effort to reach out to people. When I ask her what she feels the solution is to her loneliness, her answer is "I want my (died in 2009) husband back". She won't even call her siblings because she doesn't want to "bother them". They do call her. One lives too far away to visit more than 1-2x a year, and her other is 94. He lives in town, but currently can't visit her due to his own health. It's truly maddening, but sometimes you just have to let them stew in their own juices.
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That quick change of temperament happened to me, once I got married. We were high school sweethearts, and his mom had always been very kind and friendly to me. After the wedding, she made it clear that there were 'rules' for me to follow. Weekly phone calls from her son, and overnight visits every weekend. Everything is 'fine' or 'nice' or 'good.' Etc. Turmoil when my husband made it clear that was not going to happen.
You had clear intentions when you made the decision. Now that you know more, you realize you need to make a different decision.
Are there family. members who did care for her and stepped back that would be willing to work with you in coming up with a plan of hired assistance and support you and her in getting services in place? Living with her may work out, with more structure and boundaries.
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