Confusion is the inability to think as clearly or quickly as you usually do. You may feel disoriented and have difficulty paying attention, remembering, and making decisions. Confusion can be temporary or long-term and progressive.
Tips & Links
Understand the difference between gradual onset of confusion usually associated with aging and sudden onset of confusion that can be caused by medication side effects, infections (especially urinary tract infections), dehydration, metabolic problems, surgery, or changes in your environment (like being in a hospital). For sudden onset of confusion, your health care team should be contacted and follow their instructions.
Learn More
- For sudden onset of confusion, contact your physician or visit urgent care to determine a cause.
- Confusion can affect a person’s ability to make decisions, manage daily tasks, and maintain independence, leading to increased stress and safety concerns. Learn more about confusion and memory loss from Healthlink BC.
- Know that ongoing confusion can be related to long-term changes in your brain like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Learn about the warning signs of dementia from the Alzheimer Society.
Things to Do
- Support people who have confusion by providing a calm environment, use simple language, provide clear visual cues, maintain a regular routine, and address their concerns with empathy and reassurance.
- Learn simple communication ideas to support people with confusion or early stages of dementia from HealthlinkBC.
- Know there are different types of cognitive assessments that involve answering a series of questions and/or performing simple tasks. They are designed to help measure mental functions, such as short and long-term memory, language skills, reasoning, and the ability to recognize objects.
- Ask your physician or nurse practitioner for a cognitive assessment for yourself or someone you are caring for if you notice changes in their memory or level or ability to process information.
- Know that getting an assessment allows for early intervention, better management of symptoms, and more effective planning for future care needs.
Plan Ahead
- Plan ahead – a diagnosis of dementia may prompt you to talk about and write down your wishes.
- Some topics to consider include:
- Where you want to live (aging in placeor residential care).
- Who you want making your decisions for you (substitute decision-maker and power of attorney).
- What you want done (advance directive, Do Not Resuscitate or No CPR order, Medical Assistance in Dying, organ donation, will, end-of-life celebrations).
Mywell Health was created to help you learn about and organize your decision documents in one place. You can store both digital and print copies in a file under My End of Life Decisions.