Caregiver Support

How Can You Be a More Patient Caregiver? Practice! Does your blood pressure soar once you finally finish filling your cart with groceries, simply to find only one checkout lane open and a line of aggravated shoppers ahead of you? Or when you arrive five minutes early for a doctor’s appointment, only to have to wait 45 minutes to be seen? Some people just appear to project an inherent sense of patience, regardless of the circumstances. Wouldn’t you love to know their secret, particularly when it comes to learning to be a more patient caregiver and provide better care for a loved one? Thankfully, you can increase your level of patience in much the same way that you increase your endurance in exercising – through practice. Try the following tips to strengthen your caregiving patience muscles: How Can I Become More Patient? Intentionally put yourself in circumstances that require patience. Let someone go ahead of you the next time you are standing in line. Make yourself wait a few moments (or more!) before checking your phone. Strike…

Caring for Your Partner? Here’s How to Maintain Appropriate Boundaries. If you’re in a successful, long-term relationship, you know that it requires commitment, compromise, and sacrifice. The happiest relationships are those where both parties selflessly take care of each other. This balance shifts, however, if the person you love experiences a serious health concern. And this shift can have a devastating impact on the dynamics of your relationship if you’re not careful, as you find yourself in the role of caring for your partner. Naturally, you want to do everything you can for your loved one. However, it’s important to ensure you’re not losing your romantic connection in the process. Trying to parent your partner can lead to resentment – for both of you. To maintain healthy boundaries, keep the following in mind: Be intentional in creating opportunities to focus on your relationship apart from the illness or injury. Continue to engage in the activities and conversations you enjoyed together before the health issue arose, modifying as needed. Express…

Caring for Ageing Parents While Working? Reduce Stress with These tips! The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives in one way or another: physical, mental, financial – you name it. The resulting stress has been particularly hard on those who are caring for ageing parents while working – something that is already incredibly stressful without adding a pandemic to the mix. Perhaps you feel as though you’re unable to perform either job to your best ability. You may be wondering if it’s even possible to achieve a healthy life balance between these two important roles in your life. And while we all know that self-care is crucial to our wellbeing, who has time to take care of their own needs while striving to meet the needs of everyone else? If this reflects your own internal dialogue, we suggest you take just a few quick moments to review the following tips to help you better manage both responsibilities. Review finances. It’s likely not a conversation you want to have with your ageing parents, but it is important to raise the…

Take Two: The Dual Purposes of Journaling for Caregivers Most of us are jotting down notes all the time: grocery lists, to-do reminders, appointments, meetings, events…the list goes on and on. If you’re a family caregiver, you’ve got even more reasons for writing, as you manage another person’s life in addition to your own. Journaling for caregivers is a great way to keep everything together in one concise location. Yet we recommend taking it a step further by utilizing two journals for two distinct purposes that are equally important to your caregiving role. The Organization Journal This type of journal is a great tool for keeping everything related to a senior family member’s health and wellbeing together. Include: Any changes in condition Information regarding any concerning symptoms and what may be impacting them (i.e., Mom has been feeling lethargic this week; it seems worse on the days that she skips breakfast) A list of any questions you want to remember to ask the doctor (along with their answers and recommendations) Prescriptions…

When a Chronic Senior Health Condition Leads to Anticipatory Grief Grieving the loss of a loved one is one of the most painful aspects of human life, particularly when that loss is sudden and unexpected. But there are additional shades of grief that are less often discussed and worked through, such as when a loved one begins to progress through dementia, when a terminal illness is diagnosed, or any other chronic senior health concern is brought to light. Referred to as “frozen grief” by Pauline Boss, a family therapist, author, and University of Minnesota emeritus professor, these types of loss are complicated, leaving loved ones in a state of limbo. It’s important to remember that each person’s experience of loss is different, and there’s no one right or wrong way to grieve. The following tips can help: Never push yourself to “move on.” Take the time needed to process your feelings, and seek the support of a professional counselor. Set aside plenty of time for self-care, making sure to eat healthy, exercise, get plenty of sleep, and participate…

Accepting and Managing This Difficult Emotion When Caring for Aging Parents If you were to list the top five emotions you experience in meeting the care needs of your aging parents, what would they be? Maybe you’d first think of feelings like compassion, love, and sometimes, even stress or frustration. Would anger make the list? In many cases, though family care providers might not like to admit it, the answer is a definite YES.  The truth is that a great many adult children struggle with the reality that their parents are growing older. Growing up, our parents may have exuded health, strength, and control, giving us an underlying impression that they would always be there for us. Witnessing a decline in their health shatters that notion, which might leave us feeling let down, disillusioned, anxious, fearful, and yes – angry.  As the tables turn and aging parents become the ones in need of care, family dynamics may become complicated. And the negative stereotype in our culture towards aging informs us that growing older is something we have to resist or…