Description
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive and fatal disease that causes memory loss and problems with thinking and behavior. Alzheimer's disease caregivers are often left to deal with the stresses of their own lives as well as the lives of their chronically ill family member. It is important to understand some of the complexities that go into caring for a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Support groups offer a means of stress relief through communicating with others in the same situation. This research focuses on this communication and what relief caregivers describe. Caregivers are observed during bimonthly support groups and interviewed following the meeting to understand community support, stress relief, and communication styles within the group. My reflections on witnessing the experiences of my mother and aunt being caregivers for their parents are incorporated into the results. The interviews are written in an interactive narrative form. The narratives allowed for deep analysis, which uncovered two communicative tensions; uncertainty versus certainty and independence versus obligation. These results allowed for the exploration of future research involving multiple support groups and loved ones beginning their caregiving journey.
