The Heaviness of Alzheimer’s Care Giving
If you are changing slowly from a relationship of equality to the situation you are to be the caregiver for your spouse or your parent who is increasingly suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, you should be aware of the heaviness of this changed roll.

The never ending daily care and shifting to another relationship with your loved one put a heavy burden on your shoulders. Not to speak about the responsibility at the moment you have to make the hard decision about placement in a care facility.

Maybe you even have to participate in and end-of-life decisions.

So caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease isn’t only a physical strain, but it also demands a lot on the emotional level.

Good Advice
You as a caregiver should understand as much as you can from the disease and its capriciousness. You need this knowledge to make it possible for you to cope with all situations you’ll meet in the future (or maybe you already are confronted with at this moment).

So, it is recommended to look for further information and to attend programs where you are informed about the different stages of the ailment and about what to expect. They teach you how to deal with difficult situations you will get in as a caregiver and inform you about some practical strategies.

Secondly you need to take care for yourself. One way is to have a good supporting group of friends and family to assist you from time to time. If they can take over the care now and then, so you’re able to spend some time just for yourself, that should be superb.

Alzheimer’s Caregivers Need To Be Supported
Almost everybody knows how hard it is to ask for some help. Especially in the situation of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease, many caregivers are afraid of asking help. Maybe this is because they fear to be judged not caring (or loving) enough.

When you say to someone: “Call me at the moment you need some help”, they say they will do. However you never get that call. They continue slaving, telling themselves this little bit more isn’t that much.

What may be working is to offer some explicit assistance or help, like:
– \”I\’m free tomorrow in the morning. Should I sit in for you so you can complete a few things or to go shopping for a while? \”
– \”This afternoon I\’ll go shopping. Is there anything I can take for you? \”
– \”Do you like me to hoe your garden or to mow the lawn? I\’ll be happy if I can do it for you this weekend.\”
– And many other day-to-day activities you can take over from you parent, relative, friend or neighbor.

Caregiver Stress Lies In Wait
The attitude of caregivers believing they should do everything themselves, can be harmful. In that case it’ll not only strike the caregiver themselves, but also to the person they take care of.

The stress of a caregiver can lead to petulance, irritation, overtiredness, social abandonment, anxiety, burnout and many other complaints, such as minor physical ailments.

If they do not accept help and say that everything is going well, try a slight urge. Tell them you love to help and they don’t have to do this all by themselves.

Maybe you can remind them to what is usual in the safety instructions in an airplane: You need to apply the oxygen mask first for yourself and after that take care of your child. In other words:
First take care of yourself to be able to provide the best care for your loved one.

Author Bio: Dick Harkes was confronted with Alzheimer’s Disease when his father was diagnosed with this awful ailment. Then he started collecting information about Alzheimer’s.
He likes to share this information with everybody.
Please visit Alzheimer Care.

Or start at his homepage: All About Alzheimer’s Disease.

Category: Medical Business
Keywords: Alzheimers caregivers, Alzheimers disease caregiver, take care,first take care,care giving