My client is a 48 year old man with dementia & schizophrenia. Test showed his lungs are scared from tuberculosis. He sneaks around and smokes cigarette butts he finds on the ground. He normally does not smoke, but about once or twice a month I catch him smoking butts. I'm not sure how to handle this. His doctors have told him he is not to smoke, but he does it anyway. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
The author will teach you how to address the problem in an effective manner.
Are you his only caregiver? Is his family around? Do you live in? Are you part of an agency that can provide some support for you? Do you feel alone in trying to control his smoking? Maybe others have already tried?
Smoking isn't easy to stop to begin with and your client is dealing with dementia and schizophrenia. He may not be at all worried about self destructive behavior. I fear you won't want to hear this and I'm sorry if I offend...Trying to keep such tight control of him could be destructive to you. You are human and need some of your own time. Speaking for myself here: Sometimes when I find myself too deep in trying to fix a client's problem it means that I am avoiding a problem of my own.
I was offended/hurt by an answer I received when I asked my first question on agingcare.com. I stopped participating for a little while to protect myself. I just read what other people were writing to eachother. I noticed different writing styles and oppinions. Mostly I noticed that the people who use this network do care about eachother. The person I felt offended by has truned out to be kind and helpfull. I can take what is usefull to me and leave,(delete), the rest.
She is going to start spending one weekend a month at my house -- I guess I'm going to have to learn how to use them, so I won't be calling my sister for help!
If you can pick up those butts first, you might reduce the number he smokes. I would use gloves or something to protect my skin, or crush them with my heel, for what it's worth.
Can you can manage where he goes?
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