Vim & Vigor - Fall 2019 - CH - 25

GETTING HELP
WHEN YOU
NEED IT

EMOTIONAL CONCERNS

The cost of caregiving is not only measured in
dollars. Taking care of someone is also emotionally demanding and often draining.
Caregivers often cite the mental work as more
difficult than the physical work, says Irving
of the Family Caregiver Alliance. Caregivers
receive little to no training, so they're learning
as they go. The role involves a lot of uncertainty,
including not knowing what behaviors to expect
day to day from their loved ones.
"A lack of training and lack of feeling competent and confident in these caregiving tasks can
create a lot of stress," Irving says.
That's particularly true when caring for people with dementia or Alzheimer's, which are
progressive diseases that bring more and more
dependence on a caregiver over time.
"There's not a booklet caregivers can use
to walk them through every warning sign
or behavior each person will experience.
Caregivers have to be detectives and figure out
what strategies will work," says Moreno of the
Alzheimer's Association.
Nearly 40 percent of caregivers consider their
situation to be emotionally stressful, and for
those who provide 21 or more hours of care
weekly, that number rises to 46 percent, according to the 2015 report by the National Alliance
for Caregiving and AARP.

A wealth of resources exists for caregivers, but they often don't know what
is available and don't have much free
time to research them, says Christina
Irving, a family consultant for the Family
Caregiver Alliance.
"Often when I ask caregivers how
they're doing, they say, 'I don't know, I
haven't had time to think about it,'" Irving
says. Simple activities like exercising and
spending time with friends are hard to
accomplish because of the constraints
of caregiving.
Irving recommends that caregivers
"really take inventory, take stock of how
they're doing." That includes:
3 Recognizing what's changed
3 Assessing their mood
3 Analyzing their sleep habits
3 Weighing whether they have things
in their lives that they enjoy
Irving says committing to small
changes-like getting out of the house
for a daily 10-minute walk or sitting in
the backyard every day-is sustainable
and realistic.
It's key to not wait too long to ask for
help or seek out resources, because if
caregivers become too worn down, it's
harder to recover.
Where do you start if you need help?
Irving recommends your local Area
Agency on Aging, which is a network of
hundreds of organizations nationwide
that serve the elderly. Organizations
focused on specific conditions-for
example, Alzheimer's disease, stroke or
Lou Gehrig's disease-also can be helpful,
especially for access to support groups.
The Family Caregiver Alliance has a
tool called the Care Navigator on its
website that offers state-by-state help
locating public, nonprofit and private
programs and services. The Alzheimer's
Association also offers a toll-free
hotline-800-272-3900-with staff
answering calls 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.

FALL 2019

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2019 - CH

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