Self-care of Caregivers of Dementia

The webinar “Self-care of Caregivers of Dementia” which was organised by the Centre for Corporate and Community Development in collaboration with Malaysia Mental Literacy Movement on 28 December 2022 via Zoom meeting, featured Faculty of Arts and Social Science Department of Psychology and Counseling Lecturer Tay Kok Wai as the speaker.

Tay during the webinar

At the webinar, Tay explained why self-care for caregivers is crucial. He said, “Oftentimes caregivers are described as the second invisible patients by literature and scientists.” Tay explained that even though caregivers are constantly closed and work hand in hand with professional units such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and therapists to help dementia patients, unfortunately, their needs are somehow neglected and not acknowledged. “This is why caregivers are reported as the second invisible patients,” he said.

Factors contributing to caregiver burden

“The main challenges that caregivers can possibly experience are financial concerns, social isolation, burden and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. Factors contributing to caregivers’ burden include age, workload, understanding of the disease, the duration of caregiving, sleep disturbance and relationship with the patient,” he added.

There are a few strategies that caregivers can practice to reduce their burden. The first strategy shared by Tay was relaxation. He pointed out that implementing the relaxation strategy will help one to feel less tense, possibly giving one new energy, making tasks easier and not taking up much time.

Strategies for self-care

Tay also shared and demonstrated the deep breathing technique and the muscle relaxation technique. “Both are extremely helpful in eliminating and reducing the stress level one can face when taking care of dementia patients,” said Tay.

Another strategy is also to make time for pleasant activities. Caregiving is normally a long process and journey; therefore, pleasant activities are beneficial for one to relax. It offers a way for caregivers to release their stress so that they can continuously provide the care that is needed. He mentioned, “Sometimes it is possible to ask help from friends or close family members so that caregivers can take time for themselves. Professional care can also be considered if it is affordable.”

Activities that can be done with dementia patients

He also talked about doing pleasant activities with dementia patients. For example, going out for a meal, recalling and discussing happy memories, cooking and preparing snacks together.

Guilt and grief

“A lot of times caregivers tend to experience guilt and grief because of sending their patients to a caring or nursing home. To overcome them, first of all, one has to realise that it is totally normal to react in such a way. Other than that, caregivers can always reach out for support; realise that sending them to a nursing home could be a helpful decision; allow time to diminish guilt and grief feelings; recognise and accept new relationships; plan for visitation and recall what the dementia patients said years ago, whether they agreed or not with the decision of sending them to a nursing home,” concluded Tay.

To watch the full webinar, kindly click here

 https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=707583224299690.