Caregiver Stress? Education for the Family Caregiver

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