Get Help!

Posted: August 25, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Emotional and Physical Challenges | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Caregivers #1 recommendation!  

Click on the following links to read the heartrending account of a caregiver, who’s husband has dementia. Together they were approaching brink during COVID. . .

Accepting the Gift of Caregiving:
Caregivers encouraging one another

Fatigued, in need of respite – Accepting the Gift of Caregiving

Caregiver support to the rescue! – Accepting the Gift of Caregiving

When I read the above July 4th and August 19th articles by JAS

  • My heart ached.
  • My bones felt exhaustion.
  • My ears heard her cry for help. 
  • I sensed the years she had aged.
  • I felt old right along with her. 

I understood the lesson she learned. It is a major takeaway of What to Do about Mama?  

Ask for help!  No one knows you need it if you do not ask. 

The number one recommendation from the caregivers who contributed to What to Do about Mama? get help. Caregivers tend to step in with their “can-do” attitudes and continue to shoulder ever-increasing responsibility until they reach the point of being crushed by the burden. So, whether you hire help, accept help, or both—just do it!

What to Do about Mama? p. 170

Caregivers: Beware of your care receiver wanting “only you” and the flip side of the coin—feeling that you are the only one who can provide care. In the beginning of the caregiving arrangement, it may all be “easily” manageable. But you have to look ahead and realize that inevitably the care receiver will have changing and increasing needs. If you set a precedent at the beginning that other people will be involved, you will set limits on your loved one’s dependency. Initially, contact with other people can be as simple as going to the local senior center or establishing relationships with “friendly visitors.” Gradually bring in help for home support and/or personal care, as needed. By the care receiver acclimating slowly, accepting “strangers” into the home won’t be as threatening. Also, encourage other family members to visit, assume responsibility, and afford you the opportunity to “get away.”

What to Do about Mama? p. 259