11/01/2023
Dementia can have a big impact on families and caregivers. Dementia NZ is a good source of help and information.
For the caregiver of a loved one living with dementia, it can often feel as if your world has turned upside down. In fact, many carers describe, not only a feeling of losing the one they love to this debilitating disease, but also a sense of losing their own identity.
If you're a caregiver of a loved one living with dementia, it’s so important to take care of yourself. Remember, you are not alone in your caregiver role. Many others have trod the path before you, and are there to help and advise.
The following tips may help:
1) File it away
As caregivers, we spend a lot of time and worry thinking about the future of our loved one in need, often going over and over the details in our heads when we should be resting. Instead of revisiting concerns, write a plan, then file them away, and let the matters drop until you need to refer to them. Include an emergency plan, in case you are suddenly called away and someone else needs to take over your carer duties. Make a list of friends, family, and agencies that can be called on at short notice.
2) Eat well – and simply
Your health can quickly deteriorate as you care for another because there is less time to cook (and eat) nutritious meals. Keeping your meals simple, and learning to love fresh, raw foods, can help. Aim to eat a simple salad or salad sandwich every day; snack on vege sticks and fresh fruit.
3) Routine rules
If you’ve never been a routine person, now is the time to become one. Routines allow others to help you because they know, in advance, when and where they’re needed.
4) Build a support network
Remember you are not the only person responsible for your loved one in this new phase of their life. We live in a society that cares, and there are groups out there to provide both practical support, and advice on where to find it. Tap into dementia day care, government respite care, church groups,and Carers NZ.
5) Reassess your commitment regularly
We all want to care for a loved one ourselves – but as dementia progresses, it’s important to reassess the level of commitment you are able to provide. Take time to talk with a professional, such as your doctor, about how you, and your loved one, are managing, and how to move forward with extra home help or residential care.
6) Keep a diary
Caring for a loved one with dementia can feel disheartening. Without the usual feedback of gratitude, self-doubt can set in, and you can even begin to wonder if you are doing your best. Use a diary to list all you do in a day to help your loved one, and you will soon see the huge effort you are making.
