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Caregivers for People With Dementia Need a Break

Stress and burnout can put you and your loved one at risk, so arrange a respite

By Family Caregiver Alliance

Caring for anyone over a long period of time can be stressful.

If you care for a person with dementia, you face greater risks for health problems than other caregivers. You are particularly at risk for caregiver burnout—a state of mental and physical exhaustion brought on by the physical, mental, emotional and/or financial stresses of providing ongoing care, usually over a long period of time.

Symptoms include difficulty concentrating, anxiety, irritability, digestive problems, depression, problems sleeping and social withdrawal.

Caregiver burnout puts both you and your loved one at risk. It is one of the most-cited reasons for caregivers placing a loved one in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

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One of the most effective ways to prevent caregiver burnout is by taking care of your physical health needs, as well as your mental and social health needs. Essential to meeting these needs is to schedule regular time off from your caregiving duties. If you do not have a neighbor, family member or friend nearby who can provide dependable weekly help, look into respite services in your community.

Respite literally means a rest—a break away from the demands of caregiving. Respite can be arranged for varying lengths of time—a few hours, overnight, a weekend, even for a week or longer. It can be provided in your home or in a facility such as adult day care or a nursing home. In-home attendants may be employed by an agency, self-employed or volunteers. Respite care can be arranged privately for a fee, paid for by some long-term care insurance policies, or sometimes provided by government or private organizations.

More:
Caring for someone who is cognitively impaired
Where to find support for caregivers
What is caregiving?

By Family Caregiver Alliance

MissionFamily Caregiver Alliance is a public voice for caregivers, illuminating the daily challenges they face, offering them the assistance they so desperately need and deserve, and championing their cause through education, services, research and advocacy.    Who We Are Founded in 1977, Family Caregiver Alliance was the first community-based nonprofit organization in the country to address the needs of families and friends providing long-term care at home. Long recognized as a pioneer in health services, the alliance offers programs at national, state and local levels to support and sustain caregivers.National, State and Local Programs Uniting research, policy and practice, the alliance established the National Center on Caregiving to advance the development of high-quality, cost effective programs and policies for caregivers in every state in the country. The National Center on Caregiving sponsors the Family Care Navigator to help caregivers locate support services in their communities. Family Caregiver Alliance also oversees Link2Care, an Internet support and information system for clients of California's system of Caregiver Resource Centers and operates the Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center in the six-county San Francisco Bay Area. In that capacity, the alliance's staff social workers work closely with families caring for ill or elderly loved ones. Our services, education programs and publications are developed with their expressed needs in mind, to offer real support, essential information, and tools to manage the complex and demanding tasks of caregiving.

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