Caring for an elderly family member is a daunting task, no matter what level of care is needed.
Currently, there are over 65 million non-paid family caregivers in the US. With the aging of the Boomers, that number is growing. Collectively caregivers give over $420 billion in free care annually. The emotional and physical toll on those who provide care for others is enormous. The potential impact on health, finances, job, mental well-being and other relationships is staggering.
Depending on how long you have been a caregiver, you come to realize that your family members and friends who are not caregiving have absolutely no understanding of what you are going through. As one of my dear friends said, “I am so sorry. Until I became a caregiver, I had no idea what you were living through all those years.”
As family caregivers, it is crucial to protect ourselves. I call this the Caregiver Bubble™. This is an imaginary field or boundary that you create around yourself to keep a protective distance between you, your loved one for whom you provide care and your siblings, not to mention their problems, their anger, and their guilt trips. Create a boundary around yourself — from stress, from mental and physical exhaustion, from your loved one’s attempts to consume all your time, etc.
Caregiving is a naturally very emotionally charged activity. Family dynamics often come into play and your loved ones can easily drain you of your life force and drag you into the dance. Your job is to provide care for your loved one but to survive the process to have a quality of life after caregiving. I didn’t realize this how crucial this was until it was almost too late.
Author, Carol Core, is a speaker, humorist, and expert in “everything eldercare.” Look for Carol’s book, 50 Sanity Saving Tips for Caregivers on Amazon. CarolCARE, LLC, Copyright, 2015, All Rights Reserved
Photo Credit: Kiefer Hamilton ©2017