How Dementia Caregivers Can Manage Stress & Avoid Burnout
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People who have chosen to be a caregiver for their elderly family member or friend with dementia are doing a noble job. They care out of love and because they want to help elderly lead a quality and happy life. Caring for seniors with dementia requires a lot of work and patience, the right attitude, and making many sacrifices on a long-term basis. This leaves much less time for the caregivers for their routine life tasks, including exercises, socializing with friends or acquaintances, etc. Neglecting self-care can cause anxiety, stress, or depression in them. Therefore, Star Capital stresses the importance of dementia caregiver stress management to help them maintain their mental health and wellness. Only when they are healthy and energetic, caregivers can care for their elderly family member or friend with dementia.
Things to Do for Self-Care
Caring for the elderly with dementia is a physically demanding task that requires a lot of time. This can limit the social life of caregivers and restrict them to home. Moreover, they get much less time for performing various tasks. These include socializing with friends, going on travel, pursuing hobbies, doing exercise, etc.
Ignoring these tasks can affect the physical, mental, social, and emotional health of caregivers. They may develop various medical conditions and symptoms. These can include social withdrawal, sadness, feelings of depression, anxiety, irritability, and frustration. The other conditions may be concentration issues and emotional bursts. To alleviate the conditions or symptoms, a dementia caregiver needs to dedicate some of their time to performing these essential activities.
Eat Nutritious Food
Caregivers should eat nutritious food that provides them with the necessary nutrients and energy for leading a healthy life. If they can’t cook themselves due to a lack of time, they can order food items from neighboring home caterers.
Stay Hydrated
Apart from eating a nutritious diet, staying hydrated is also important for them to maintain their overall health.
Exercise Regularly
Caregivers should exercise on a regular basis. They can install exercise equipment at their home if it is not possible for them to go outdoors for exercising. The caregivers can also do yoga or meditation to maintain their physical and mental health.
Sleep Well
They should maintain a consistent schedule for bedtime and wake-up time.
Ways for Dementia Caregiver Stress Management
Caregivers can perform various activities to alleviate their stress or depression symptoms and maintain their mental health. This includes doing exercises and pursuing activities for relaxation. The activities can be walking, listening to music, reading books, painting, or going out with a friend.
Caregivers can seek assistance from their friends or acquaintances for some of their tasks. Delegating their tasks to them helps to reduce their workload and stress. If required, caregivers can utilize local programs that offer respite care, household help, or extra caregiving support. Using these programs can provide them with temporary relief from their routine caregiving chores and provide them with practical assistance.
Join Support Groups
Caregivers can discuss their feelings with friends, family members, counselors, and other professionals and organizations. They can also join support groups that are made up of caregivers who care for elderly people with dementia in homes. Thus, group members can share their experiences of elderly care with each other. They can provide you with practical tips on how to care for seniors and ways to cope with your feelings of stress or depression.
Read Books & Articles
You can take help from resources like books and articles, which provide insights on ways for Alzheimer’s dementia caregiver stress management.
Consult a Medical Professional
If you are unable to deal with your depression yourself, then you should consult a mental health professional to treat your condition. You should also keep up with the doctor visits for check ups and followups.
Shift Elderly to Dementia Care Facility
If you can no longer care for your elderly family member or friend with dementia, then it is time to move him to a dedicated dementia care facility. You may have to make the decision to shift him to the facility due to various reasons. One of them is that you are not getting enough time for your professional or other tasks. The other reason can be the advanced dementia condition of the senior.
Dementia care facilities have experienced and trained caregivers, therapists, and other staff. They provide better care and necessary physical and mental health support to seniors. Moreover, the staff assists seniors with their routine activities like bathing, dining, etc., if seniors need them. The facilities also have the infrastructure, tools, and facilities to help seniors lead independent, safe, quality, and fulfilling lives.
Offer Personalized Programs
The facilities also develop and implement personalized programs for seniors according to their health and emotional needs, interests, and preferences. These programs give them the opportunity to perform exercises and do various engaging activities like painting, knitting, etc. Moreover, the programs let seniors spend time with other seniors. This can be during dining sessions and while performing outdoor activities like visiting local attractions, etc. This helps to build social bonds among seniors and develops a sense of belonging in them.
While choosing a senior care facility for your elderly family member or friend with dementia, you should consider various factors. These include its nearness to your home, the expertise of its staff, and the kind of environment it provides to seniors. You should also consider its facilities, programs, and cost.
Conclusion
Caring for a senior family member or a friend with dementia is physically demanding and mentally taxing for caregivers. This confines them to the home and restricts their social life. Moreover, this leaves much less time for their professional tasks and pursuing their interests. Neglecting their self-care and lack of time for their health, fitness, and other activities can give rise to feelings of stress or depression in them. To cope with them, they should adopt ways to manage caregiver stress for dementia patients.
