Caring for Someone With Alzheimer's Disease: Tasks, Stress and Where to Find Help

Rewarding, and hard

A caregiver looks after someone who needs help caring for themselves. It can be rewarding — strengthening your bond with a loved one and giving a sense of fulfillment — but it can also be stressful and even overwhelming, especially with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is an illness that changes the brain: people gradually lose the ability to remember, think and use good judgment, and have trouble caring for themselves. As it worsens, they need more and more help. Learning about the disease and its stages helps you plan ahead, so you'll have the resources you need.

What caregiving can involve

• Getting affairs in order — health, legal and financial matters, involving your loved one while they can still make decisions; later, managing their money and paying bills.
• Home safety — checking that the house is safe for their needs.
• Driving — watching their ability to drive, perhaps with a driving specialist, and making sure they stop when it's no longer safe.
• Health — encouraging physical activity (exercising together can make it more fun) and a healthy diet; arranging medical care and making health decisions.
• Daily life — helping with bathing, eating and medicines; housework and cooking; errands; rides to appointments.
• Company — providing companionship and emotional support.

Look after yourself too

Don't neglect your own needs: caregiving is stressful, and your physical and mental health matter. At some point you won't be able to do it all alone, so get help when you need it:

• home care services;
• adult day care;
• respite services, which give short-term care for the person with Alzheimer's;
• federal and state programs offering financial support and services;
• assisted living facilities;
• nursing homes, some with special memory care units;
• palliative and hospice care.

A geriatric care manager — a professional trained in this work — can help you find the right services.

Sources

Based on "Alzheimer's Caregivers," MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, drawing on the National Institute on Aging; a work of the United States government in the public domain.