Mrs. Smith never told others about her situation because she did not want to bother them. Eventually, one grandchild broke the ice and started a conversation with her. She helped Mrs. Smith to understand the causes of her exhaustion so that it made more sense for Mrs. Smith to get in touch with her feelings.
Mr. Smith had been a perfect husband throughout the years, so Mrs. Smith had difficulties accepting his recent changes. She also lost the emotional support from her husband to face new challenges.
Mrs. Smith did not know much about dementia. She only knew that there was no cure for it. On top of that, her husband showed no improvement despite her care and effort. This made her feel hopeless and helpless.
Mr. Smith was the one who took care of all the daily hassles throughout the years. It was very difficult for Mrs. Smith to learn to memorise medical appointments and manage finances as she could find very little support.
Mr. Smith was not affected physically by dementia. This made it difficult for Mrs. Smith to understand the cognitive changes and personality changes happening in him.
Mrs. Smith started to take up the role of caregiver only after her husband was diagnosed with dementia. The challenges brought her a lot of stress. Therefore, she had to find new ways to release the stress.