What is caring?

Caring is something that will affect the majority of us. As the population ages over the coming decades the statistics show that the number of people caring for another person will increase significantly.

Caring is when someone begins to need help with their day to day living as a result of illness. In most cases the illness itself will be diagnosed. This in itself can be traumatic as the news may not have been expected. You may therefore suddenly become a carer. It may however be in the case of dementia that the person being looked after begins to need help in small ways, they may become forgetful, but as the disease progresses their need for help increases.

However the caring role starts it is likely that it will continue for many years. The person being looked after will need help with personal things, dressing, helping them with their medication, taking over the role of shopping, cooking, cleaning, managing money. It may involve helping them go to the toilet or moving about.

It also needs a great deal of patience and understanding. Caring for someone is an emotional journey for both the person concerned and the one looking after them