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Understanding more about stress and how to calm down when you’re feeling stressed can make a big difference to your ability to cope.
Looking after somebody with dementia can be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. Finding ways to manage stress and building your resilience and ability to relax will help you to cope with the challenges of living with dementia. Dr Gemima Fitzgerald, Clinical Psychologist, Dementia Carers Count
Stress can manifest itself in a range of physiological responses, including:
The time intensity model shows the stages we all go through as we become stressed and agitated.
A trigger – the event or situation that causes the stress – leads to agitation, which gradually accelerates. When things reach a peak, it becomes impossible to think straight.
Once emotional and physical energy start to dissipate, distress deescalates, leading to recovery before the cycle returns to calm.
For healthy individuals it can take a long time to return to the baseline of calm from the peak of distress.
For people with dementia, it can take even longer, as they are more likely to experience another confusing or challenging situation in that time which creates multiple peaks and many experience a continual heightened state of emotion.
It can be scary to feel this way. If the person has memory difficulties, they may struggle to remember what has caused them to feel distressed and to make sense of it, or to communicate to others what had occurred to make them feel the way they do.
There are scientifically proven ways to help reduce anxiety and stress.
Relaxation is important for carers because it empowers you to cope and helps you to manage changes.
Resilience is something that we can all develop.
Building resilience helps us build our ability make choices when we feel under pressure.
Find out more about how to build your resilience
Mindfulness helps us notice when our thoughts and feelings are taking over.
There are mindfulness techniques we can practice to help us gain more control over our emotions and to feel less stressed.
Find out more about mindfulness
Breathing techniques can help develop resilience and help you cope when you are feeling stressed
Discover breathing techniques to help you stay calm
Learn about everything from ha breathing exercises to the lesser-known wonders of the outdoors, this podcast is a must listen for anyone who looks after someone with dementia.
Listen to our carer wellbeing podcastCarers can neglect their own health and experience high levels of stress. Looking after your physical and your mental health is important and the two are linked.
Social and emotional connections can have a range of benefits for our mental and physical health.
Getting a good night’s sleep is good for all of us, but especially for family carers of people with dementia. Good sleeping patterns are essential for our physical and mental wellbeing.
