Dear
@lemoncake94
Hard to answer without a bit more detail so I will have to make a few assumptions. I live with my mum.
1) There is the old adage a busy person has no time to worry. At nearly 90yo and other health problems there are limits to what mum can do. Hence we work as a team. I iron mum folds. I wash up and mum dries. Mum “helps” me make and change the beds. We have gentle walks in the alley where a white cat has adopted us as his odd couple to observe. Mum talks to him, gives him a name, remembers to look out for him but has no short term memory on virtually everything else??? Guess we are the A Team.
2) Mum reads her magazine frequently to me the same article over and over. She loves her word search puzzles. We work on a record of her earlier years. Freeview repeats are a god send. She thinks Lovejoy is a bit of alright as she did in the 1980s, the music from The Bill always gets her attention, As Time Goes By, Jim Reeves CDs, etc. Please appreciate a PWD can most likely watch a programme or read a book or magazine over and over, each time being like the first.
3) Always be mindful your dad’s anxiety might at times be genuine. We’re the lights turned out before we came to bed, are the doors locked, etc. Just answer patiently and if repeated try distraction.
Glad you found this forum but it is a balancing act at times. You need to be careful what details you give out but some general detail will help others reply. For example do you live with your dad, how good is his mobility, eyesight if an issue. Please continue to use this forum.