Admitting you need help taking care of a loved one isn’t an easy task. It can even feel like a personal failure.

When it comes to dementia, reaching out to assisted living homes for a consultation is one of the most compassionate things you can do. This virulent disease affects millions of Americans today, affecting everything from their memory to their motor control, and isn’t easily reconciled with a little bed rest. A memory care home, on the other hand, is explicitly designed to provide around-the-clock care to residents of all shapes and sizes. Thanks to prevalent stereotypes in the media and fluctuating healthcare norms it can be a little easy to overlook what nursing homes actually do.

The list below will brush off these misconceptions and catch you up to speed so you can start helping your loved one sooner rather than later.

Dementia Isn’t That Severe

Let’s get this one out of the way first. Dementia is a debilitating disease that affects nearly everything a person does, with Alzheimer’s among the most severe. Common side-effects of dementia include memory loss, difficulty with basic tasks, dizziness, mood swings and trouble speaking. To date it is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and is the only disease in the top 10 causes of death that can’t be prevented, slowed down or cured. An assisted living home, however, can help those with Alzheimer’s live a high quality of life.

Not Many People Have Dementia

Here’s another misconception that can cause you to feel alone in the matter. Dementia is a very common disease in the United States, with one study finding one out of every eight people over the age of 65 struggling with this disease. Around the world? As many as 35 million. While there are over 100 different types of dementia, Alzheimer’s is the most common and accounts for up to 80% of dementia diagnoses. This is just one of many reasons the nursing home is seeing more revamps lately.

An Assisted Living Home Is A Last-Ditch Effort

A common stereotype in movies and shows is the image of the dreary, depressing nursing home far removed from the world at large. Reality, however, is quite different. The function of a memory care home is to provide consistent care to those struggling with this severe disease, up to and including social and emotional support. The American Health Care Association has determined over 15,000 skilled nursing care centers to be in active use in the United States. A memory care home is specifically designed to counteract both chronic illness and the onset of dementia.

Searching For A Nursing Home Makes Me A Bad Person

Here’s another misconception that needs to be nipped in the bud. Dementia is a difficult enough disease for your loved one to slog through each day. Putting the burden of medicating, supporting and counteracting the illness on your own shoulders? Unless you have enough money to support them and hire at-home nurses, it’s the definition of a losing battle. A memory care home provides healthy meals, medication management, assistance with day-to-day tasks, travel amenities and a plethora of community resources to its residents.

An Assisted Living Home Is A Hard Transition

This is one misconception that has a kernel of truth. It can be difficult for your family member to admit they need to shift from one area of life to another sooner than expected, but it only gets harder when there’s a lack of communication. The average age of retirement these days has been bumped up to 63, but dementia can strike earlier, leaving you in the position of having to sit down and figure out where to go from here. Instead of putting it off, reach out to your loved one and talk about how their quality of life will improve with the aid of a memory care center.

Memory care centers are only getting better from here. A good talk now will set the first building blocks for a comfortable and enriching future.