What can caregivers do to help minimize the negative effects of taking care of their sick family members? According to Dr. Grant, "Caregivers need to find a way to look after themselves, make sure that they're getting the proper emotional and physical supports that they need, including basic things like proper diet, and exercise, or whatever, but also being able to see friends and getting respite. Because if they don't do that, not only might their own health suffer, but they're going to be less able to look after the person for as long a period. They're going to burn out much faster. And then that, of course, also translates into a burden on our healthcare delivery system if people are placed [into nursing homes] early.

According to Dr. Grant, memory-loss diseases such as Alzheimer's, place an added strain on families because "the person slowly goes downhill no matter what you do. It's a very long-term process in many cases, say, in contrast to certain kinds of cancers where a person can become really sick but, typically, it's not for ten or 15 years. There is a gradual increase in both physical burden, and also psychological burden. Because what happens is that you fundamentally lose the person as a personality. When it comes to a point where your husband or wife no longer recognizes you or your children, that's a very difficult thing for people to handle."

Diana Shaw, whose mother suffers from Alzheimer's, echoes these points. "I think, with Alzheimer's, it's the fact that it takes longer. It's less predictable." She says, "And it robs the person of their individuality and their independence. I don't think people quite comprehend how important your memory is, in every aspect of your life. Because if you can't remember how to remember-- is your body is going to forget how to do something it has to do? And so, you wonder what is she going to forget? Is it going to be us? Is it going to be her past? Is it going to be who she was, who she is? Is it going to be to talk, to see, to breathe?"

One of the hardest decisions a caregiver can make is when it is the right time to place a family member or friend in a nursing home. At some point the physical and psychological burden becomes greater than most non-professional caregivers can manage. Research has shown that the health of caregivers improves once placement in a nursing home happens. According to Grant, "What we found is that, once the placement occurs, actually the stress level of the caregiver goes down, in most instances. Most people do find that that gives them some relief. Some people feel kind of guilty and conflicted about it. But most people come to an adjustment so that they're actually doing better."
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