Family Caregivers

Family caregivers often suffer from stress which may be endangering their own health and place the person they caring for at risk. As well especially those who are dealing with Dementia. Anxiety, anger, sadness, exhaustion and guilt are just a few of the signals that you yourself may need assistance and support as a caregiver. Some helpful tools may be the Caregiver Stress Meter is a brief confidential  that of his valuable tool created by Elder Care Experts to help you assess your level stress and connect you with helpful resources there’s also a check list of red flags signaling caregiver burnout if you are caring for your spouse or a family member you want to read about the signs of emotional and physical stress that can put your life at risk. the toll of caregiving widespread asking for help for burden for caring for loved ones isn’t a sign of weakness many are faced with the stress respite care can help many families specially trained to work with all types of situations case study number 5 I am an 80 year old woman who has been caring for my 85 year old husband with Alzheimer’s disease for the past 15 years. I love caring for my husband, but the stress is starting to get to me I don’t have a life anymore. I am alone? No, you’re not and it’s time for you to start reaching out for support according to many studies what we noticed is that caregivers reportedly are spending an average of 35.4 hours a week caring for their loved ones with 19% of those providing care for more than 3 years and 32% caring for more than five years to accommodate caregiving time and expenses they had, study respondents were making the following sacrifices they were cutting back on leisure activities and vacations comma saving less or not at all for their children’s future comma using their savings, not cutting back on Basics such as clothing utilities or transportation and even groceries. Cutting back on personal medical or dental expenses. Here’s an interesting observation from the study participants that will relate to you time is the most expensive commodity I provide but it has no price tag, when caregiver wrote in a diary. Despite the sacrifice, caregivers also said it was a commitment they made willingly. The study also reported on personal and emotional implant pack which includes heightened stress or anxiety, difficulty sleeping, increased Financial worries, depressed or hopelessness, new or worsening health problems. So as you can see, others share your plate. You need rest but help to maintain your health and Sanity. Resources and more information contact us today at 250-718-7457 by reaching out you can get the relief you need and the help he required today we know the resources that are available in your particular Community thank you.
Your role as an advocate when your loved ones in a long-term care facility.
When you visit or call, consult with those staff members who care for your parent most. You need to be your parents Advocate, especially if he or she could not do it and speak on their own. If his roommate keeps him up at night, if you notice a change in his mood if he can’t eat food from the dining room, urge him to speak up or speak up for him. No his right and then protect them. In particular, stay abreast of those less dire ailments that are often overlooked or not adequately treated by Nursing Home Care staff these may include vision and hearing problems, Bedford, incontinence, poor eating habits, insomnia, depression and over her medication. If you can’t be there in person, ask the staff about these issues, and asked to be notified if your parent Falls, becomes ill or given more than her routine medications. Also, be sure that your parent is treated with respect and that he or she has some privacy, as these are some important issues with their self-esteem and so often lacking in community living situation perhaps there is a time each day when his roommate can let you or your father have the room to themselves or maybe there is a corner of a lounge or a card room or he or she won’t be disturbed. If your mother is uncomfortable about having strangers help her dress or baths, see if the job might be limited to one or two regular attendance. If your mother is a particular interest, saying and gardening, talk with the activities director about how she can become engaged in some relevant activity or task, if your father says his days are meaningless, ask if he can visit people in the infirmary, read to Residents who have trouble with her vision, health and gift shop, or deliver flowers or mail to others it’s amazing how a little gift of giving can lift your spirits.

Helping yourself dementia calls for a stronger than usual arsenal of self-preservation measures so as a caregiver you know we know that dementia actually in that illness takes its tremendous toll on the family members and in this situation especially your own self-care is super important and that of your parents is really are inseparable if you were caring for a parent with any regularity, their mental state will reflect yours. If you were always on the verge of exploding your crying, they will feel the pressure and become that much more anxious and often confuse. Life together can be a downward spiral. But on the other hand if you are calm you take time for yourself your parent will also feel more capable and calm and compose. Attend to your own needs on a regular basis if only to help your parent. Join support groups such as the compassionate caregivers group in your community the Alzheimer’s Society also has many groups available. Schedule time away and regular breaks away from your parents. This way you’ll be more refreshed to deal with any issues that may come about so I want you to acknowledge situation so it’s very important in the early stages of the disease it’s natural to kind of want to believe on some level that your parent will wake up one day and they will be the person they used to be and this is nice but that kind of hopefulness hopelessness gets people through the day. But it leads to frustration and despair and sometimes depression. If your parent has Progressive dementia, she will not get better or he will not get better he or she will not be able to do the same things today maybe that they did yesterday. They will probably be even less capable tomorrow. So with knowledge of the situation and accepting these harsh realities is extraordinary painful and difficult but it is really the only way to move forward and to appreciate what you still have at the present time. Remember that dementia is a disease it’s not a choice they’re not choosing to be frustrating or cause you any kind of distress. With dementia there is no physical signs of the illness sometimes I guess so you can see Tremors but that could be also another illness. Your mother or father they look the same as they always did on the outside so it’s natural to expect them to be on be the same on the inside but here she is not they cannot control their behavior it is not their fault. They it’s not their fault that you need to repeat the same questions over and over sometimes even though it’s infuriating and it can drive you nuts. They can work force themselves to remember the answers to questions more than anyone with a broken leg can force themselves to walk and move. If you can keep that thought plant affirmative firmly in your mind and repeated daily almost like a mantra that your parents behavior is caused by the disease and not by the person it will help lessen some of the frustration and help you to keep some more perspective.
And wants us to go through a quick safety checklist dementia create some new hazards sometimes and their environment which means taking extra care and precaution that maybe goes beyond this list so let’s look at the first thing if your parent maybe lives on their own I want you to look at may be turning the temperature down on the

For safety reasons install handrails and grab bars throughout the home has dementia affects coordination and balance at certain times. Also if you’re in clear ask your Home and Community Care person in your local community for assistance on this and having a safety plan. As your parent grows more confused, lock or install child-proof latches on any cabinets that contain household cleaners, solvents, medications, Natchez, liquor, knives, scissors or other dangerous items. Check for other hazards even outside the house as well such as paints Clippers saws chainsaws grills lighter fluid. If your parent is apt to wander, put locks on the doors leading outside. Placement high or low on the door where they won’t easily find them. Maybe you want a buzzer on the door so if they try to leave then it alerts you. Remove bedroom and bathroom door locks that are operated from the inside so they can’t accidentally lock themselves in the bathroom. Your parents should not smoke when unattended he might forget a burning cigarette and drop a smoldering but in the couch on a chair and start a fire and burn their home down. If your parent has trouble operating the stove, remove the knobs or encase them so they can’t leave the burner or the oven on. Or put the electric stove on a timer so it can be operated only between certain hours. Ask an electrician for other stove safety tips. If for example you do not want your parent operating the stove maybe unplug it and make it difficult for them to try and plug it in again no I want you to put yourself in their position may be in their shoes imagine being given a big assignment one that you simply cannot do. You’re feeling very overwhelmed and challenged and even humiliated by your inability to do those tasks that you once were able to do. Making matters worse, someone is constantly standing over you growing increasingly impatient and annoyed that you are struggling and failing and why can’t you do it quicker. The pressure and embarrassment can make it really hard for you to think so you fumble even more and make more mistakes. For your parents, getting dressed or eating a meal that involves several food and an assortment of utensils may be a difficult task right now. They can’t remember what to do from one minute to the next and why they’re even doing it at all. If you criticize them, hurry them or become annoyed at them they will only become more anxious confused and less able to do the test there at 2. But if you can remain patient and compassionate they will be able to actually be more successful with the test that they’re trying to do. So forget all about logic of course bananas should not go in the oven or in the pantry in a box and a hair should not be combed with a toothbrush. Nor should they be eating baking soda out of the cupboard. Sometimes a little joke or comment that shows that I’m still here buried under that disease a piece of my mother still survive with a little piece that remains in the memories of who she once was so soft from your hands that keep me going that was written by a caregiver remember but if you attempt to explain why to your parent, you will maybe be wasting your breath. She is living here she is living in a world where everything is changing.