Coping Techniques for Caregivers

Source: Barbara J. Helms, MA and David R. Wekstein, Ph.D., "For Those Who Take Care" University of Kentucky.

1. Always do your best. Seek the training you need to be the best you can be at your position. Maintain high standards. Do not let others bring you down.
   
2. Leave your personal problems at home. It is difficult to deal with personal stress and the stress of the job at the same time. Give yourself a break and leave the personal problems at home. One type of stress at a time will be a little easier to handle. In addition, the people who you are caring for have enough trouble dealing with their own problems. They will not be able to cope with yours, too. People with memory loss pick up on your mood and distress and will respond in that way. That makes them more "difficult" to care for - and it isn't their fault. Above all, do not take things out on the residents. If your problems are too difficult to leave behind, you may wish to ask to be reassigned for a while to a position that does not deal with direct care.
   
3. Do not take things personally. Residents with memory loss or their families may say or do things that could hurt your feelings. Remember, they are under a great deal of stress, too. They are usually not trying to hurt you on purpose. By responding to them in patience, you are providing a great service.
   
4. Learn as much as you can about your people and their problems. It is important to know the life stories and possibly the family history to help you understand the reactions some people will have to certain situations. Looking at life from their perspective can be more helpful to them and can take some of the "responsibility for their happiness" off your own shoulders. Many times, discontent, depression, anger, and self-centeredness are all life patterns. Sometimes these personality traits are in response to the terrible illness they are experiencing. You will not know unless you investigate. If you were in this situation, wouldn't you like the people who care for you to understand you?
   
5. The secret to happiness is not doing what one likes to do but liking what one has to do. Sometimes you may be asked to do things that are not exactly pleasant. If the tasks are too difficult, do not hesitate to talk to your supervisor or to ask for help. However, everyone, now and then, must do things they would rather not do. Perspective helps. If you have to do it, you might as well make the best of it.
   
6. You are not alone. People "on the outside" cannot really understand the things you go through, the stress you "endure," the grief you experience, the joy you feel when doing this job. Seek the support of your coworkers. Also, look for opportunities to give support to your coworkers. Many facilities have support groups for the staff to discuss the feelings, frustrations, etc., that are a daily part of caring for individuals with memory loss. This may be a wonderful option for your facility. Make the suggestion.
   
7. Maintain a sense of humor. At times, the experiences in a long-term care facility are absurd and "silly." It is okay to laugh. It is even therapeutic. Make sure the laughter is focused at the situation or yourself and not the resident. If you do not have much of a sense of humor, you probably do not belong in caring for people with Alzheimer's disease.
   
8. Lighten up. Working with people who have a memory loss can be sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, always rewarding, and usually unpredictable. Go with the flow. Relax. Be flexible.
   
9. Take time off or time away. If you are under a lot of stress at work and/or at home and the stress is not under control, you may do more harm than good at work. Stressed-out staff have difficulty working with other staff and often take it out on residents. Take a "mental health" day or some vacation time or request a transfer to another part of the facility. Sometimes the only treatment for stress is getting away for a while.
   
10. A few other suggestions:

• Assign people to people not to floors or wings.
• Be accountable to each other.
• Participate in education and training programs.
• Avoid "turf battles" (such as "That's not my job." "This department doesn't do that."). Be a team!
• Always keep the right and dignity of the residents before your own.
• Maintain open communication with family as well as with other staff and shifts.
  
  

Compiled by the Lincoln/Greater Nebraska Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, 1999.