How to provide family caregiver support

Undoubtedly, caring for someone with dementia can be a life-changing experience. Taking on the role of being a family carer can present many physical, emotional and financial challenges due to taking responsibility to support and compensate for their loved ones' reduced autonomy and independence. It's fundamental that, as a society, we start to recognise and support the valuable work of family carers to help optimise their well-being, as it can be easy for them to lose sight of their own needs. 

While taking on a family carer support role can be a rewarding experience, 9 in 10 people who are caring for someone with dementia report feelings of stress or anxiety several times a week, according to the Alzheimer survey study - highlighting the need to support carers better. In this article, we’ll explore how you can support family carers in navigating their caregiving journey, as well as useful dementia caregiver tips. 

What is a family caregiver?

A family caregiver is a person who provides unpaid care to a family member or loved one who finds it difficult to care for themselves due to factors such as age, illness, disability or reduced mobility. They play a crucial role in ensuring their loved ones can live a comfortable life in their home and assist with day-to-day tasks such as washing, dressing and eating.

Tips for dementia carer support

Assisting with coping strategies for dementia carers can ensure the situation remains sustainable for everyone involved. Here are some of the ways you can reduce stress for caregivers and make sure nobody is left struggling on their own.

Plan ahead when visiting

Regularly visiting people living with dementia can give them a huge boost and take some pressure off the family carers too. Before visiting, it's best to let them know your plans in advance so your visit can run as smoothly as possible, and it shows that you value their time and their schedule. Visiting without advanced notice can be stressful for caregivers and can cause upset for people living with dementia. It’s a good idea to ask caregivers beforehand what they need or bring something along that you know will positively impact them, such as a thoughtful gift.

Keep in contact and look for signs of burnout

It can be difficult for family carers to keep on top of meeting their own needs, and for many, this can breed an unhealthy balance between their caregiving responsibilities and their personal lives and, over time, it can lead to burnout. Symptoms of burnout can range from fatigue and restlessness to anxiety and depression, and it's important you keep an eye out for any signs and help them recover if they do become burnt out, so they can quickly get back on their feet.

Helping carers when they experience burnout shouldn’t just stop there. Ideally, you should provide dementia carer support at the very start of their caregiving journey – and make sure they receive continuous support to prevent burnout. There's a range of preventive measures they can do. You could start by exploring what coping strategies for dementia carers work for them, encouraging them to take breaks or connecting them with a support group for dementia carers so they can receive more specialised help.

Offer to help out with their duties

Caregivers will appreciate people helping to take things off their plate – no matter how big or small - from picking up prescription medicine to bringing round a home-cooked meal. Providing this type of carer support not only lessens their load, but is also a great reminder that they have a support network to lean on and are not alone in their caregiving journey. It's important you go about this in the right way and suggest or ask about the duties they would like done, as helping out without their knowledge may cause distress.

Give them resources for carer support

There’s a lot of dementia career support available, but sometimes it may feel daunting for family cares to sift through resources by themselves.

You can find what support is available for dementia careers at the Alzheimer Society, where they’ve created a comprehensive guide.

We have also put together an in-depth dementia carers support guide and advice on dementia care.