Centre for mental health, active ageing opens in Toa Payoh

Ms Serene Low, 58, often felt at a loss caring for her 84-year-old mother who was diagnosed with dementia in 2020.

- Theresa Tan

The teacher, who is married with three children, said she was quite clueless about how to communicate with her mother and manage her behavior, especially in the initial months after the diagnosis.

For example, her mother would wake up in the middle of the night and start screaming, and Ms Low had to calm her down. The frequency of such incidents has eased with medication.

The senior would also throw tantrums during the day.

Those stresses took a toll on Ms Low's sleep pattern and well-being, and she had to stop work for more than a year.

Ms Low has a helper to help her care for her mother, who needs assistance with daily activities such as bathing.

She added: "My main challenge is the emotional upheavals I go through because of her difficult behavior. I felt guilty feeling that she has disrupted my life, like I was being selfish."

But what helped was finding support from other caregivers and learning caregiving tips from a support group for caregivers of dementia patients run by social service agency Care Corner Singapore.