Care Diary Book For Private Carers Of People Living With Dementia

It is estimated that alone in the UK, approximately 550,000 people care privately for people living with dementia in their own homes. The majority of people who care privately for somebody with dementia are ordinary people without formal care training, and in the majority are unexpectedly confronted with this new role. Some do not know where to start or what to expect. Many of them care for their relatives over a time span of 10 years or longer. As dementia is progressive, relatives of affected people have to deal with their own bereavement alongside practical care questions. Support is mainly focused on the person with dementia. If you care for somebody living with dementia, this book has been written for you.

This Care Diary Book aims to provide a support frame with the emphasis on you as the private carer – through encouragement to keep a diary (method used in trauma rehabilitation) where you can write down information about everything you learn about the underlying cause of the dementia as well as the care you apply, combined with guidance on how to maintain your own physical and mental health, and your individual social environment. This process is supported by questions asked to you in each chapter to motivate you to critically evaluate your own situation.

By using a care diary, you may discover and develop (unknown) qualities which may enable you to unfold individual potential and, by doing so, remain the person you believe to be - beyond the time of care. In addition, the care diary aims to renew the focus of your relationship with the person in your care, the person with dementia.
This first edition of the care diary book gives an insight in creative communication, behavioral symptoms of individual dementias, how to let go of certain behavior, death and dying, exhaustion and burnout, the importance of keeping social, abuse, misuse and neglect, and the quality of life and wellbeing for both the private carer and the person living with dementia.