Does caring for someone with dementia stress you out? 10 top tips for how best to cope

An expert on dementia suggests knowing in advance what to expect in a patient may be helpful, although for some it is ‘too much information’

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Carers of people with dementia can learn ahead of time everything they can expect to encounter, but for some that is too much information. The writer, who was a dementia carer, offers advice on how to cope and solicits tips from a professor of Alzheimer’s. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 1:15pm, 1 Sep 2024Updated: 5:43pm, 1 Sep 2024

This is the 44th instalment in a series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers and stories of hope.

At the start of World Alzheimer’s Month, and ahead of World Dementia Carers’ Day on September 8, Anthea Rowan speaks to an expert about how best to cope with the challenges and stress of caring for someone with dementia.

When my mother first came to live with me, there was little to do in the way of “care”, other than making sure she was clean, comfortable, well fed, safe.

I kept an eye on her in the shower; I organised her laundry; I nudged her as sensitively as I could in the direction of a new packet of diapers to minimise accidents of incontinence, as they were so distressing for her.

Anthea Rowan with her late mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Big changes in her mother, she says, came abruptly and without warning. Photo: courtesy of Anthea Rowan

I knew ultimately I would need to provide more care but I was not sure what shape that would take – or how bad Mum’s dementia would get, or how quickly.

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Decoding dementia

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