Caregivers

Caring for someone you love can be full of meaning. It can also be one of the loneliest jobs there is. Your days fill with appointments, medicines and tasks. Friends drift because you can never make plans. The person you care for may not be able to be the companion they once were.

You are far from alone in this. A 2025 report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving counted about 63 millionU.S. adults giving ongoing care to an adult or child with a complex medical condition or disability (AARP and NAC, 2025)As of July 24, 2025.About 1 in 4 U.S. adults, up about 20 million since 2015.Source: AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 (press release) family caregivers in the U.S., and found that nearly 1 in 4U.S. family caregivers who report feeling socially isolated (AARP and NAC, 2025)As of July 24, 2025.The report says the share is growing, and that women, LGBTQ+ caregivers and people who felt they had no choice were more likely to feel alone.Source: AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving: Caregiving in the U.S. 2025 (press release) felt socially isolated.

Why caregiving is so isolating

• No time. Care can take many hours a week, on top of work and other family.
• You can't leave. Someone may need you nearby all the time.
• Plans fall through. Last-minute crises make you cancel, and invitations stop.
• Others don't understand. Friends may not know what to say, or may stay away.
• You're losing the relationship you had. Caring for a partner or parent with dementia or serious illness can bring grief long before a death.
• Guilt. Many caregivers feel guilty wanting time for themselves.

Who you care for shapes it too:

• A parent or older relative: often while working and raising children. For practical help with caring for aging relatives, see our sister site Aging Family Guide (opens in a new tab) and our page Lonely older relatives.
• A partner or spouse: you may lose your closest companion and your caregiver at once.
• A child with a disability or serious illness: parents may feel apart from other parents whose lives look very different.

Get breaks: respite

Respite care gives you time off while someone else looks after the person you care for. It can be a few hours, a day program, or a short stay.

• Ask family and friends for specific help: "Could you sit with Mom on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 5?" Specific requests are easier to say yes to.
• Adult day programs offer activities and care during the day.
• Find respite services through the ARCH National Respite Network (opens in a new tab), which has a locator for respite providers.
• In the U.S., call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or visit eldercare.acl.gov (opens in a new tab) to find your local agency on aging, which may offer caregiver support and respite.
• Dial 211 in the U.S. or Canada for local services.

Using a break to rest is good. Try to use part of it to see people, too.

Find other caregivers

Other caregivers understand without explanation. Support groups can be in person, by phone or online, often at times that suit caregivers.

• Family Caregiver Alliance (caregiver.org (opens in a new tab)) is a nonprofit for families caring for adults with conditions such as dementia, Parkinson's and stroke. It offers information, support groups and the CareNav online tool. Phone 800-445-8106.
• Caregiver Action Network (caregiveraction.org (opens in a new tab)) offers free education, peer support and a Caregiver Help Desk at 855-227-3640.
• Groups for a specific condition, such as dementia, cancer, autism, stroke or mental illness, often run caregiver groups. Ask the doctor's office, hospital social worker or the condition's national organization.
• Faith communities often have caregiver ministries, visitors or meal teams.

See also Support groups and peer support.

Keep your own friendships alive

• Keep it small and easy. A ten-minute call, a text, a walk while someone else is on duty.
• Invite people to you. Friends can come for tea while the person you care for rests.
• Be honest. "I can't go out much right now, but I'd love a call on Sundays." People often want to help but don't know how.
• Let people help. Accepting a meal or a ride is a gift to them too.

Look after yourself

Caregivers often put their own health last. Keep your own doctor visits. Notice signs of burnout: exhaustion, irritability, poor sleep, feeling hopeless or resentful. These are signs you need more support, not signs you are a bad person. See Depression and loneliness, Sleep, food and movement and Getting help.

If you ever feel you might harm yourself or the person you care for, reach out right away. See Need to talk right now?.

When caregiving ends

When the person you cared for moves into care or dies, you may suddenly have empty days and lose the routine and people around the caregiving. That can be lonely in a new way. See Widowed or grieving.