Educate Yourself on Being a Caregiver

The role of being a caregiver often happens by default: A parent or older loved one falls and cannot live alone anymore. Or during a visit, you notice an empty refrigerator or unopened mail piling up at a senior's house.

For caregivers of someone with cognitive issues, there are additional challenges. You'll encounter problems for which you probably have no training or experience, such as understanding how to talk in a manner that won't upset or confuse someone in the later stages of dementia.

"Caregiving happens to people in different ways," says Laura Gitlin, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University, in Philadelphia. "But the one thing in common is that you're often not prepared for it at all."

Caregivers often try getting