As Alzheimer's Numbers Soar, is our Focus on Caregivers?

As the numbers for Dementia and Alzheimer’s diagnoses increase, where is our focus on Caregivers?  Caregivers need and want to access support resources and that perhaps the experiences of caregiving has made them consider the possibility of their own future needs! There is no doubt that the current number and expected increase in the foreseeable future of individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease will necessitate it.

Are organisations such as Alzheimer’s Society developing and deploying more local and online resources for caregivers?

Is there a range of self-help tools and classes for learning new skills that may be needed in the role?

What about the decline in support groups? Where funding has meant closures?

And is there enough respite care that can help give caregivers a break from their duties?

Health Care Providers who look after medical needs such as GP’s could be an excellent opportunity to ensure support – if the health care provider routinely asked patients if they serve as a caregiver to a loved one, they could identify and address needs and concerns during the caregiver’s own appointments.

Our focused today is on unpaid dementia caregivers: family, and friends who help people with memory problems or manage health issues and provide personal care.

Looking after your own health is vital to sustaining your capacity as an unpaid carer

Ask for Help

If you are caring you should always ask for help, it is not a weakness.  Tell people when you are not coping.  If you need time or you just need someone to cut the slack, ask.  Even if it’s just to give you a hug let people know.

Plan your time

Don’t try to cram too much into your day, it will end up making you stressed and exhausted.

Make time to regularly do something for your self – just 10 minutes every day or an hour or two every week can really help.

Be positive – focus on the five things that worked today, not the one that didn’t.

Support

Finding support can be difficult if you don’t know where to turn. Speak to your GP or visit the Carers Trust website (carers.org), you can do this anonymously if you’re finding it hard to ask for help and the guide you on local to you support groups.

Make sure you let your GP know that you are a carer as they will record this on your notes and may be able to offer you extra support. Also see 10 top tips to get the most out of your GP appointment from Healthwatch.

Keep records

I’m not the carer but the cared for person and I find keeping records is a life saver sometimes.

Always write down who you phoned, when and the outcome of the call so you can refer back to it when needed, especially if the professional doesn’t do what they said they would.

Remember you have a right to make requests so that you and whoever you care for have lives of your own that are healthy, happy and as solvent as possible.

Take care of your relationships

It can be that the strain of caring for a loved one or friend can have an effect on your other relationships.

By taking care of your relationships, you can take care of yourself.  It can be difficult to recognise when caring is causing problems and by maintaining your other relationships you can ask for support or just talk when needed.