The Stress that Comes with Caring for Alzheimer's

Another reason that having the tough conversations and planning financially for the future is so important has to do with time as well as money. A survey conducted by Home Care Assistance found that 25% of dementia caregivers spend 25 hours or more per week caring for their loved one. Dementia caregivers were also a whopping seven times more likely to experience feelings of exhaustion on a daily basis due to their caregiving responsibilities, and experienced “extreme stress” three times more often than non-dementia caregivers. Paying a caregiver, rather than relying on family as the only caregivers, may help ease the burden. But, medical care is expensive, and the Alzheimer’s Association survey found that only 15% of people were financially prepared to afford caregivers. This may explain why an estimated 15 million people are currently serving as unpaid caregivers for a loved one with Alzheimer’s and dementia.