Arthritis

With the Hollywood writers strike, some of those writers may be treating this time as a much-needed break from the daily grind, as they are only required to work 20 hours a week manning the picket lines.  Unfortunately, as most caregivers know, caring for aging parents is a full-time job.  And this is often on top of the full-time hours put in at a paying full-time job.  It can often be tiring, emotionally and financially draining, and very hard.

For family caregivers that are in need of a well-deserved respite, don’t hesitate to ask for help...  Don’t hesitate to take a well-deserved break!  Accept the help that your family and friends offer or hire outside help to give you a few hours (or a few days) of help each week.  Caregiver burnout is real – especially for working caregivers.  Understand that you must first take care of your own health, and that asking for help or accepting help may make you a better caregiver in the long run by reducing your stress levels and allowing you some respite.

Providing care for a loved one, organizing their health care and managing appointments, checking on their home safety, spending time with them to prevent isolation, AND doing all of the other duties that come with the territory is extremely time consuming, sometimes confusing, and sometimes stressful.  If you find yourself ‘in over your head’ or just needing some advice, you may consider enlisting the help of a geriatric care manager.  Geriatric care managers can help facilitate communication within your family, give you advice on avoiding caregiver burnout, and offer tips and tricks to help you manage the health conditions of your loved one (whether it be helpful ways to remind your mother with diabetes to check her blood sugar, tips on communicating with a senior suffering from Alzheimer’s, ways to improve your father’s quality of life or help manage your uncle’s arthritis, or a better way to manage the multiple medications prescribed to your grandmother).