Loneliness in caregiving

Loneliness – a side-effect of caregiving

Not long after retirement and following My Love’s diagnosis of COPD, I saw red flags and realized caregiving was in my future. I had to investigate what that role entailed. By two years later when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I recognized the partnership life I had committed to was unfolding a bit differently than I had envisioned. Over time, I reinvented myself, morphing into his caregiver. My Love’s changing health became the catalyst for all that was yet to come in our lives.

“Caregivers can feel lonely, no matter how unintentional.”

During the long ten years evolving as a caregiver, I felt more isolated and disconnected than at any other time in my life. I struggled to stay involved with friends. But after a bit, we grew distant to those we had known for some time. Not just because we were unavailable for many former activities, or that I couldn’t leave my loved one by himself, but also because we were in our 70s and were aging right along with everything else going on.

I found myself winding down activities that no longer interested me – sadly, that even included some of my friends. At the same time, I noticed that many of our couple-friends vanished early on. I was never quite sure whether it was our inability to be as involved as we had previously been, or whether we all experienced an uncomfortable lack of understanding of memory loss. In the end, it might have been easier to stay with what was known than to tackle a new dynamic with now unpredictable seniors. There was no one reason, but it was sad to watch the dwindling connections and to sense the abandonment and loneliness from those voids.

As I began reading about the impact of caring for those with memory loss, I related to the loneliness it created for me.

I found that loneliness is “an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation.” Emotional isolation….no connections…that was where I was!!

read more
the rest of this article
gives more information about loneliness
and solutions to help you through it.

(This full article, regarding Loneliness – Lost Connections will also be found on the drop down main menu under Caregiver Knowledge as a static page. Thank you.)

Love and be well, 🌷 Judy

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