When it comes to defining the extent of the volume of caregivers, former first lady Rosalyn Carter
said it best: “There are only four kinds
of people in the world – those who have
been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be
caregivers and those who will need caregivers.”
Caregiving can be a
very rewarding and bonding experience – but it can be very stressful. According
to a recent study conducted by Home Instead Senior Care network, 31% of family
caregivers admit they'd like more help, and 25% actually resent other family members
who don't help out more. The stress gets worse if the caregiver has other
important and pressing responsibilities, such as a job, children to care for, a
busy social life, or some distance to travel to care for their elderly
relative.
Caregiving can be
particularly hard for a spouse, especially when the care recipient requires
around-the-clock assistance. It can even become dangerous if the spousal
caregiver has his or her own health issues to deal with, because those problems
can be made worse by the stress of caregiving and the lack of attention to the
caregiver’s own needs.
You can’t ignore the
needs of the person you are caring for, but there are a number of ways to make
sure you remain as stress-free and healthy as possible during the process. In
this workshop, we’ll discuss the extent of the caregiver stress problem and
give you some signs to look for that show you might be suffering from stress yourself.
We’ll also look specifically at the challenges of dealing with patients who
have Alzheimer’s or other dementia. Then, we’ll give you some tips and ideas
about how you can ease your stress level and protect your health.
Click here to obtain our full Caregiver Stress Pamphlet on "Education the Family Caregiver"
Visit Home Instead Senior Care online for additional information @ http://www.homeinstead.com/newsletters/Pages/eNewsletterEditions.aspx
