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Being a caregiver is a very stressful full-time job. Taking care of your loved one with dementia can, and will increase your stress level. There are many ways to reduce your stress levels as a caregiver. If you experience signs of stress on a regular basis, consult your primary physician. Ignoring your symptoms can cause your physical and mental health to decline.

Adult day centers are used to relieve the caregiver of his or her duties for the day while ensuring that the cared-for recipient will still receive the proper care in a safe and friendly environment.Adult daycare focuses on social interaction. Keeping your loved one busy during the daytime hours, so you the caregiver can continue to live your life without any feelings of guilt. Your loved one can benefit from an adult day center for many reasons.It allows your loved one to stay within the community while you the caregiver goes to workIt gives your loved one a break from you the caregiverIt provides much-needed social interactionIt creates a structure for their daily activities.Assistance with eating, taking medication, toileting, ambulating, etc.CounselingEducational programs and mental stimulationExercise programsHealth monitoringPodiatry, audiology, and dermatology carePreparation of 2 meals and snacksSocial activityTherapy (physical, occupational, speech, etc.)Social activities including arts and crafts, cooking, exercising, games, gardening, music, movies, pet therapy, relaxation techniques, etc.Some may worry that their loved one will resent participating in such a program while others feel guilty at the thought of leaving their loved ones in another persons care. When it works correctly, an adult day center can improve your loved ones overall quality of life, and behavior and provide you the caregiver with much-needed time off.

Adult Day Centers provide a secure and safe environment for those who can benefit from an additional social and physical activity outside of the home.  Many caregivers are unfamiliar with Adult Day Centers and are relieved to find out theres a resource available that can prolong the need to move a loved one out of the home and into costly assisted living care.  The cost of attending a day center 5 days a week can be as little as a quarter of the cost of moving into an assisted living community full-time.Adult Day Centers offer many opportunities for attendees to participate in daily physical, mental and social activities that are meant to engage, stimulate and instill an ongoing sense of purpose and belonging while freeing up the caregiver to focus on their own needs and well-being during the day.Full-time caregivers are at great risk of denying themselves the same care they provide to a loved one.  A mentally and physically exhausted caregiver is at much greater risk of getting sick or hurt and finding themselves in a position where they can no longer provide the sometimes-exhaustive care that is sometimes required.  Caregivers can become so focused on taking care of someone else, they forget to take care of themselves.An Adult Day Center can provide as much value to the caregiver as it does to the person attending.  While you are technically only paying for the care of your loved one, the benefits will affect both in many of the same ways!  Caregivers need physical, mental, and social activities in their own lives to be healthy and happy.  An Adult Day Center offers the opportunity for everyone to be happier and healthier.

Denial of the disease and its effects on the person who has been diagnosed.Anger or frustration with the person with dementia that he or she cannot do the things they used to be able to do.Social withdrawal from your friends and family activities that used to make you feel good.Anxiety about the future and facing another day.Depression that breaks your ability to cope.Exhaustion that makes it impossible to complete necessary daily tasks.Sleeplessness that is caused by the never-ending list of concerns, causing your own brain to never turn off.Irritability that leads to moodiness and triggers negative responses that normally would not.Lack of concentration that makes it difficult to perform familiar tasks.Health problems that begin to creep up on you and take a mental and physical toll.

There are 10 key warning signs of dementia that may arise when a loved one is beginning to show symptoms. They include Memory loss, difficulty performing familiar tasks, problems with language, disorientation, impaired judgement, problems with abstract thinking, misplacing things, changes in mood, changes in personality, and loss of initiative. Below are examples of each.Memory loss that affects day-to-day abilities occasionally forgetting an appointment, or a friends phone number only to remember them a short while later is normal. A person with dementia may forget things more often, or may have increased difficulty recalling information that has been recently learned.Difficulty performing familiar tasks we all can occasionally be so distracted that we may forget to serve a part of a meal, only to remember it later. A person with dementia may have trouble completing tasks that have been familiar to them all their lives, such as preparing a meal.Problems with language as we age, we all may have trouble finding the right word to express what we want to say. A person with dementia may forget simple words or may substitute words to the point that what they are saying is difficult to understand.Disorientation to time and place have you forgotten what day of the week it is, or why you walked into your bedroom? People living with dementia can become lost on their own streets, not knowing how they got there or how to get home.Impaired judgment we all may put off seeing our doctor from time to time when we are not feeling well. However, a person living with dementia may not recognize a medical problem that needs attention.Problems with abstract thinking from time to time we may have difficulty with a task that requires abstract thinking, such as balancing a checkbook. Someone living with dementia may have significant difficulties with such a task because of the loss of understanding of what numbers are for and how they are used.Misplacing things ever misplace your wallet or keys, we all have. The person with dementia not only misplaces items, but they put them in inappropriate places. Such as keys in the freezer.Changes in mood or behavior anyone at any given time can feel sad or moody. However, someone living with dementia can show various mood swings-from calm to tears and anger, for no apparent reason.Changes in personality our personalities can change in such small ways over time we may never notice it. The person living with dementia may experience obvious personality changes and become confused, suspicious, fearful, or withdrawn.Loss of initiative it is only normal human nature to become tired of housework, business activities, or social obligations, but we eventually regain our initiative. A person with dementia may become passive or disinterested and may require cues and prompting to become involved.

What happens when the roles are flipped?  One day your parents are independent, seemingly healthy, on their own, and enjoying life.  They come for a visit, take the grandkids to the park, and treat everyone to a nice night out for dinner.  Its a wonderful time and everyone has fun.  Sure, they have a few annoying quirks, and you feel like youre constantly repeating yourself to your mom, but you look past that during the week.  After all, its only for a short time and then everything will be back to normal.A month later your dad has an accident while cleaning out the garage and ends up in the hospital.  While in the hospital they see something suspicious in his lab work and immediately call Oncology for a consult.  Your Dad has been diagnosed with cancer and treatment is recommended immediately.  Your mom is home alone, and you dont worry too much about that, because you just saw her a month ago and shell be ok on her own.  The most important thing is getting dad taken care of.Mom doesnt drive any longer, so she has a friend taking her to the hospital to visit a few times a week.  A week goes by, and you get a call that your mom seems very different since the accident.  You ask a few questions and after the friend digs a little deeper, you learn Mom hasnt been taking her medications properly.  It also looks like she hasnt been eating much and you discover shes been living on tea and toast for over a week, and you become concerned for her safety at home.You quickly take some time off work to go visit dad, and stay at the house with your mom.  This is the moment everything in your life changes.  The house is a disaster, your mom has been wearing the same clothes and washing her undergarments out in the sink if she remembers.  You keep asking yourself, how could mom change so quickly?  You talk to your dad about mom at the hospital, he finally tells you what hes been hiding for years.  If hes by your moms side most people have no idea how much care and oversight she needs (including her own children).  You discover dad has been protecting his wife and doing everything from shopping, cleaning, cooking, and managing moms meds.  Suddenly you realize its been years since youve ever spent any time with either of them alone.  They are ALWAYS together and out of nowhere; you realize mom cant be alone and youll need to do something fast to help the situation.Just like that, your life is completely different.  Instead of worrying about taking care of your own children, you now must figure out how youre going to take care of your parents.  You take mom back home with you, dad stays in the hospital for another month and transfers to Skilled Nursing for rehab.  When hes finally discharged there is no way he can manage the house safely on his own, so he moves into your home too.  In 3 months, your parents went from what you thought was completely independent to virtually dependent on you for everything.These things happen all the time, and lifes pendulum can swing from one end to the other in an instant.  You are now the primary caregiver for both of your elderly parents, and your own children and you still have a spouse.  What you saw three months ago during their visit is an eternity away from what you see now.What do you do?  Where do you start?  Who can help?  You are NOT alone and there are people whose full-time job is to help those that find themselves in this type of situation.There are many wonderful resources and options available to people who find themselves in this situation.  AARP, the Alzheimers Association, Townsquare, Caring Connections, Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicare.gov, and Senior Blue Book just to name a few.Once you learn the options available that best suit your needs and the needs of your loved one, you can evaluate whats going to be right for you (and for them).  Is it in-home care assistance, adult day care, assisted living, downsizing of a home, an elder law attorney, or financial services?  You may need help selling a home, conducting an estate sale, moving to a new location, and generally changing everything you knew as normal as recently as a few months ago.  Many of these things youll be learning about for the first time and there are many people ready to help you.  You are not alone and the most important thing you remember is to also take care of yourself through it all.  An exhausted and overwhelmed caregiver is no good to anyone and is at risk of getting sick, burnt out, or depressed.  If you find yourself in this type of situation, never be afraid to ask for help! Town Square is quick to offer resources, please reach out to our center for more information about the resources available.