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Taking care of someone with dementia requires time and energy. It can be a demanding and stressful task. Knowing and recognizing the signs of stress in yourself or someone you care about is the first step toward taking action.
Watch this video to learn about the ten warning signs of care partner stress.
After you watch the video, take a few minutes to reflect on the following questions. Feel free to make some notes.
Care partner stress is a normal part of dementia caregiving. There are steps you can take to reduce it, but first, you must recognize it.
If you or someone you know is exhibiting signs of care partner stress, it is important to seek help. The person under stress should go to the doctor for regular check-ups. Ask family members and friends for their help and support. Take advantage of community programs that provide respite and relief from caregiving, practical help with meals or housework and assistance with the care of the person with dementia. And plan ahead for both the immediate future and the long term. These are just some of the things care partners can do to make their lives a bit easier.
Progression Series: Middle Stage
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Stress is your response to a stressor, such as an environmental condition or a stimulus. It is your body's method of reacting to a challenge.
Care partner stress is a normal part of dementia caregiving.
Watch the video below. It introduces a bucket analogy to help us understand stress. The size of our bucket is an analogy of our stress tolerance.
While a big bucket indicates a high stress tolerance, a smaller bucket means that you are more prone to the negative effects of stress.
Our tolerance level is a product of our genes, personality and life experiences. Therefore, the size of the bucket varies from person to person.
Regardless of bucket size, the first step for effective stress regulation is to get an overview of the water filling your bucket.
After you’ve watched the video, take a few minutes to reflect on the following questions. Feel free to make some notes.
What will you continue to do in your role as a care partner to manage the negative effects of stress? What will you stop or do differently?
This session includes the following parts:
Part 1: What is Stress?
Part 2: Symptoms of Stress
Part 3: Learning to Balance
Part 4: Relaxation Techniques for Stress Relief
Part 5: Taking Care of Me
Part 6: Questions for Reflection
Summary
Work through the various parts of the session at your leisure. Move from one part to another at your own pace and in the order that makes sense to you, based on your own needs and interests.
At any time, you may scroll to the Search bar and type a specific question or topic to learn more.
As a person living with dementia, what can you do to help gain back control after you become agitated?
We also ask that others help us minimize triggers and agitations. This can be done by listening to us about what we need and providing gentle assistance.
Read the Managing Triggers-By Us For Us Guide to learn about some of the triggers that people experience and the solutions that they have developed.
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The following Apps are a few examples of online tools to help people with dementia relax and alleviate agitation. They can also help care partners to manage their own stressors.
Each App offers various features, such as guided meditations, relaxation techniques, soothing music, and nature sounds.
Unwinding by Sharecare offers help to reflect on the understandable challenges you often experience as a caregiver and learn how to work through them in healthy, productive way. In partnership with the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers (RCI).
Headspace provides evidence-based meditation, mindfulness tools, mental health coaching, therapy, and psychiatry. Headspace helps you create life-changing habits to support your mental health and find a healthier, happier you.
Calm offers guided meditation sessions, soothing music, and bedtime stories to help reduce stress and promote relaxation.
Simple Habit provides guided meditations and mindfulness exercises designed to fit into busy schedules and promote relaxation.
Breathwork offers various breathing exercises and techniques to help reduce stress and anxiety and promote relaxation.
Aura provides personalized meditation, life coaching, stories, and music to help reduce stress and improve mental well-being.
Pzizz: Sleep, Nap, Focus: Pzizz offers customizable audio tracks for sleep, relaxation, and focus using clinically proven techniques.
Managing Triggers - By Us For Us Guide
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Have you ever had experience walking in someone else’s shoes? Experiencing life from another person’s view can be life-changing.
Alzheimer Research UK developed an app and 360-degree videos that allow you to do just that. A Walk Through Dementia was developed with people living with dementia who wanted you to experience life in their shoes.
If you are using a computer, you can visit their YouTube Channel to watch the videos. If you are using a phone or tablet, you can download their App from the Google App Store (for Samsung/Android users) or the Apple App Store (for iPhone/iPad users).
This exercise emphasizes the experience of a person living with dementia. After you have watched the videos, take a few minutes to reflect on the following questions. Feel free to make some notes.
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Progression Series: Middle Stage
This session includes the following parts:
Part 1: Feelings and Unmet Needs
Part 2: What’s the Meaning Behind the Feeling?
Part 3: A “Picture” of Dementia
Part 4: Managing Your Triggers: For the Person with Dementia
Part 5: Emotional Impact of Dementia: Personal Stories
Part 6: Questions for Reflection
Part 7: Questions Others Have Asked
Summary
Work through the various parts in the session at your leisure. Move from one part to another at your own pace and in the order that makes sense to you, based on your own needs and interests.
At any time, you may scroll to the Search bar and type a specific question or topic to learn more.
Based on an article by Gwen Randell-Young in The Sherwood Park-Strathcona County News, this Motion Graphic Video illustrates the unpredictability of life and the need to continue on during times of uncertainty.
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A notable quote:
"Life is a lot like sailing " you can use any wind to go in any direction." - Robert Brault
Providing care for a family member can bring out the best - and the worst - in everyone involved. People can come together to support each other, or the stress can lead to frustration and conflict between family members.
Past dynamics and family roles often re-surface when dealing with the stress of caregiving. All those old issues and unresolved tensions can often re-emerge.
It is important to remember that everyone will respond to the situation in his or her own way. Frustration can occur if you expect other people to feel or act the same as you. Everyone in the family comes with a different history and perspective, a different relationship with the person who is ill, and a different comfort level with illness and the associated emotions.
Also, family members each have their own strengths. Some will excel at the personal care aspect of caregiving, while others cringe from it. Others may thrive by doing housework, gardening, repairs or dealing with finances. Let people work in the areas where they shine.
Even when two people are both doing the same duty, they may still do it differently. How you provide personal care to your spouse may be different than how his sister does when she relieves you. Different does not mean wrong. Ask yourself whether it is worth butting heads over.
Family meetings are important for keeping everyone up to date regarding the care recipient’s health and delegating duties. The goal at these meetings is not to resolve long-time family issues but to ensure everyone is on the same team and to sort out what needs to be done. They can also be an opportunity for current concerns to be aired and miscommunications to be cleared up.
Author: Barbara Small
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Within families, there are a variety of models by which the caregiving responsibilities may be shared.
Download and print a copy of the activity sheet below. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the five models.
Think about your own family and the person you are caring for with dementia. Take a moment to write a response to each of the questions:
Managing Ambiguous Loss and Grief
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Family and friends are often uncertain about how to help. They may not fully be aware of the support that a care partner needs.
When someone says, “If there is anything I can do...” that is the time to reply with, “As a matter of fact, I need help with my groceries!” Many people want to help, but they don’t know how. Identifying what you need help with should make asking a little easier.
Download and print a copy of the activity sheet below. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with what you see. In the chart on the activity sheet, make a list of all the things that you can use help with. Use as many tables as you need.
Most communities have agencies and services that can help you. Services for people living with dementia and their care partners vary across each province.
You can find out what services are available in or closest to your community from a number of sources:
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Support from others can reduce stress and increase chances for success. Your circle of support can include people inside and outside the family. Community organizations and agencies may also be included.
Complete the circle of support “cloud” exercise below to help you identify and possibly expand the sources of support (formal and informal) that are available to you.
Here’s a sample of what a completed “cloud” looks like.
After you complete the exercise, print a copy of your “cloud” and take a few minutes to reflect on the following questions. Feel free to make some notes.
To learn more about what supports are available in or close to your community, scroll to the Search bar at the top of the page and type a specific question or topic.
