How Dementia Impact A Caregiver?

By Author: Maria Garcia
Total Articles: 9
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A rising number of developing countries across the world now have a large proportion of the aging population, which means they have people above 65 years or older. With the rise in the aging population, more and more people are getting diagnosed with dementia. These people need acute care, which is mostly provided by family members (family caregivers). There is much information about the effect of dementia on an aged person. However, dementia adversely affects the person diagnosed with the disorder. It affects his or her caregiver. So, let’s discover how dementia impacts a caregiver.

Psychological

It has been found in numerous studies that there exists a relationship between dementia caregiving and psychological health of the caregiver. The caregiver of a dementia patient is most likely to suffer depression and anxiety in varied proportions than in comparison to caregivers who are taking care of loved ones with any other disease. They experience a low-level of subjective well-being. As dementia is a progressive disorder where the person gradually experiences a loss of memory, thinking, and reasoning skills, their ...
... caregivers become more frustrated because of their inability to stop this loss, and the increased dependency of their loved ones on them like never before.

Financial

The cost of taking care of dementia patients is quite high. So, dementia also has financial impact on caregivers. Apart from medications every month, they also have to bear the cost of medical consultations, nursing care, or residential care. There are many unpaid and hidden costs at home also that no one estimates. Many caregivers of dementia patients have to give up their regular job for a part-time job to have more time for carrying out caregiving responsibilities.

Social

Most caregivers lack time for social interaction with their friends or colleagues. They sacrifice their personal interests and hobbies for the sake of their loved ones with dementia. Gradually, they feel isolated from the outside world and feely lonely and unappreciated for their efforts. Sometimes, even from family members they receive no kind words of appreciation and were discouraged to venture outside because of their reluctance to contribute to caregiving tasks.

In a nutshell, dementia massively impacts the life of a caregiver in several ways. There are social, financial, and psychological implications. So, it is high time that caregivers should start taking care of themselves. They need to understand that as a caregiver, they also need support so that they can take care of their loved ones.

Caregivers must not hesitate to seek support from their friends, family members, colleagues, or even neighbors. If help is not available from them, they should take help from caregiver support groups. Family members should also encourage caregivers of dementia patients to indulge in self-care activities so that they can remain physically and mentally fit. There are plenty of caregiver resources and online support groups from where they can get adequate psychological and social support. They can also opt for caregiver coaching classes so that they can get much-needed help in their caregiving responsibilities.

As a family caregiver, Maria Gracia loves to do blogging so that she can encourage other caregivers too. At present, she is a member of the online caregiver support community of Dave Nassaney.

Maria is an experienced caregiver who had taken care of her bed-ridden mother for more than a decade. She has a profound interest in writing informative blogs and articles that can prove helpful for other caregivers.