8 Maxims of Strength and Comfort for Alzheimer's Caregivers

By , Caring.com senior editor

Duke University social worker Lisa Gwyther is an Alzheimer's caregiving pioneer, having started working with families almost 40 years ago, back when Alzheimer's was, like cancer, a dirty word about which even less was known. She's also the coauthor, with psychiatrist P. Murali Doraiswamy, of The Alzheimer's Action Plan: The Experts' Guide to the Best Diagnosis and Treatment for Memory Problems.

Here's some of her best advice:

  • Focus on what's left, not what's lost.

  • Good things and joy can happen to those who have Alzheimer's.

  • You, not your relative, will need to change.

  • Don't distress -- de-stress.

  • Your life is now about adapting to a chronic condition -- creating a "new normal."

  • This is the rainy day for which you have saved.

  • There are no perfect answers, no perfect families.

  • Memorize this: "I did what seemed best at the time."

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