politics

A little something…

/ Siobhan O'Dwyer

I’ve always been a huge fan of the magazine Dumbo Feather. It’s got substance and style and focuses on real people, doing amazing things, to make the world a better place. So when the team at Dumbo Feather asked me to write a few things about ageing, social media, and how I do the work I do, I was beyond flattered.

The first piece – about how to age powerfully – is online now and you can read it here.  I am indebted to Jane Nethercote & Tegan Sullivan, who saw the value in what I do, were eternally patient, and helped craft my hodgepodge into something readable.

Love’s Not Enough

/ Siobhan O'Dwyer

Since its release in 1967, The Beatles’ All You Need Is Love has been adopted as the anthem for everything from the anti-war movement to a Las Vegas casino.  And now an article published in The Australian wants us to believe it’s also a good anthem for dementia.

In an article titled Dementia: A scourge that only love can overcome, Trent Dalton presents the moving story of Brian Sands, a man doing everything he can to keep the love alive as his wife’s dementia progresses. I’m a big believer in the power of stories. To paraphrase Brene Brown, stories give soul to data. They help us to understand what it means when we say “320,000 Australians are living with dementia” or “200,000 Australians identify themselves as the primary carer for a family member with dementia”. But stories without data are just anecdotes and anecdotes don’t change research, policy, or practice. Neither does love.

Love doesn’t pay for respite care when you’ve used up the measly 63 days supported by the Government.

Love doesn’t stop you from contemplating suicide when the physical and psychological toll of caring is more than you can bear.

Love doesn’t pay a researcher’s salary while they search for a cure, a treatment, or better care.

Love doesn’t make aged care a more attractive place to work.

And love doesn’t make it any easier to come to terms with a diagnosis of dementia.

Although Dalton’s article honours the experience of Brian and Rosemary, it is simply bad journalism to present a story of dementia without mentioning some facts and figures. Like the fact that the demand for family carers in Australia will exceed supply by 2029. Or the fact that without significant policy change there will be a shortage of nearly 60,000 staff in Australian aged care facilities within two decades. Or the fact that the Abbott Government’s $200 million for dementia research is just spare change compared with what’s actually needed to find cures, treatments, and better models of care.

Media articles that focus only on individual stories contribute to a social and political view of dementia as a personal issue. A matter for families to deal with; in the privacy of their own homes. This is a view that makes it easy for governments to tell themselves (and voters) that they are doing enough. But dementia is not a personal issue. It is a social, political, and economic one, and we ignore it at our peril.

People with dementia, family carers, and researchers deserve better from the Government and they certainly deserve better from newspapers and journalists. If we want an anthem for dementia, let’s look to The King: A little less conversation, a little more action please.

Lifting & Leaning

/ Siobhan O'Dwyer

This piece, written by me, was originally published in the Australian Ageing Agenda, under the title ‘Promoting Good Mental Health for Carers’. It appeared as part of AAA’s focus on Mental Health Week and is reproduced with permission.

I read an article earlier this year in which Joe Hockey was described as having the toughest job in the country. After spraying a mouthful of coffee over my newspaper, I wondered what the country’s carers would think of that. Caring is a tough gig, but few and far between are the carers who fly business class, smoke cigars, or can expect to retire with a pension in excess of $100,000 per year.

Instead, carers spend their days lifting, showering, dressing, toileting, feeding, medicating and managing; often at the expense of their own physical and mental health. Carers experience higher than average rates of depression, anxiety and hopelessness, and my own research has found that family carers of people with dementia contemplate suicide at eight times the rate of the general population. In Mental Health Week, it is important we take time to acknowledge family carers – the people who really have the toughest job in the country – and explore how we might better support them in their role.

While systemic change takes time, there are four things we can do right now, this week, to promote good mental health for carers:

  1. Value their contribution: Feeling valued is an important part of good mental health and we can all do something to show carers we value the contribution they make to our community. If you are a neighbor, drop off a home-cooked meal. If you are a service provider, make time for a cup of tea and a chat. If you are a politician, arrange a consultation with the carers in your electorate.
  2. Encourage self-care: Self-care is the key to good mental health, but few carers can find the time. If you know a carer, offer to relieve them for a few hours this week so they can see a movie, get a massage, or go for a swim.
  3. Recognise carers as experts: Carers have a wealth of knowledge and experience, but they are often ignored or relegated to the waiting room. Health professionals, service providers, and other frontline staff should make a commitment this week to see carers as partners in care. This will empower carers and ensure the best possible outcome for the care recipient.
  4. Tackle stigma: The stigma that exists around suicide and mental illness can be a real barrier to help seeking. Many carers also encounter stigma associated with the disability, dementia, or other condition that affects their care recipient. This week, support the journalists, artists and film-makers who are committed to raising awareness, and take a stand against the media outlets that foster ignorance and fear.

In his Federal Budget speech this year, Joe Hockey told us it was time we all became “lifters, not leaners”. Carers are some of the best lifters I know, but in Mental Health Week, let’s lean in and give them a hand.

Carers who are contemplating suicide are encouraged to call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. Carers who are experiencing depression or anxiety are encouraged talk to their GP about subsidized sessions with psychologist.