Many of us know someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, but are not necessarily caregivers ourselves. It can be hard to know what to do or how to act. One of the most important things you can do is to listen. Caregivers, whether they admit it or not, are often quite stressed out by the day-to-day things they are doing to help their parent or loved one. And sometimes caregivers just want to be able to talk about what their day or week has been like, or about big decisions they need to make. Being a good listener also involves asking probing questions, for example if someone says “It was a hard day,” you could respond with “I’m sorry to hear that, Why was it hard?”
Another very helpful way to support your friends or loved ones that are caregivers, is to ask if there is anything you can do or bring when you see them next. For example, if you’re meeting for lunch or an outing, you could offer to drive or offer to come up with a plan for the day. Even doing something like checking on movie times and taking care of that one component can be immensely helpful in taking the load off a caregiver’s plate. They’ve got a lot on their minds already, it’s nice to have an outing to just relax!
Check in on them! This ties into being a good listener, and just being a supportive person for a caregiver. A simple call, text or email checking to see how their day is going or to ask how their parent or loved one is acting that day can make a caregiver feel supported and not alone in an otherwise overwhelming situation.
Lastly, it’s helpful to learn a bit more about Alzheimer’s and dementia when you spend time with a caregiver. It shows that you care about what they and their loved one is going through, and you won’t have to ask too many questions or add an extra burden to your friend or loved one. It also will help you understand behaviors when you are spending time with someone with dementia. A great place to start is the Alzheimer’s Association Website. They’ve got great resources to help get you more familiar with the disease, and ways in which you can help your loved ones.