‘I’m surrounded but I’m alone. I’ve never felt so isolated.’

Caring for someone with dementia can be a lonely and isolating experience whilst at the same time your life feels crowded with the responsibility. You are dealing with a lot of different people, systems and reactions, trying to manage so many things and not knowing if you’re doing it right. Carers of someone with dementia have described experiencing; a crowded mind with all the responsibility; daily life filled with caring routines with the prospect of an isolated future; lonely as your social life and independence disappear; your home crowded with strangers who are home carers (not there for you) or isolated in the house caring for someone; a sense of loneliness as the person you care for isn’t in your home or, if they are at home, they are they ‘no longer there’ as the person you knew. All this, whilst, feeling a rollercoaster of emotions for the person you care for and for yourself. Ultimately, it can feel that really, you’re on your own. All of this is why we want to open up the discussion with carers through an online survey and interviews. If you are a present or former carer of someone with dementia please consider completing our survey. It will take between 10 – 20mins depending on how much you have to say. The closing date is the 26 March 2021   Complete Survey