myles:
I am really beginning to see that the people closest to the A (people who have spent time around them) are the worst people to be invovled in recovery --- it really reminds me of Alzheimer's disease in regard to being emotionally attached to the patient. For family members, caretaking someone with Alzheimers causes so much emotional pain, because you want the loved one to love you back. The pain of not being loved back can interfere with the caretaking.
But for a stranger to care for an Alzheimer's patient, there's no emotional need on the caretaker's part, so they can be objective in helping the patient.
Sounds cruel, but hands off seems to be the best thing for everybody.