Emotional Minefields – You Can’t Help Others If You Don’t Help Yourself

Caregivers often feel guilt, anger, depression, anxiety, resentment, sadness and other emotions. Sometimes you may experience several of these emotions at the same time. These feelings are common when you are taking on a new role as caregiver or have been handling these responsibilities for some time.

Remember you are not alone. There are legions of other caregivers across this country and the world. Caring for the Caregiver, a section from The Caregivers Handbook - a program and manual that can be downloaded from PBS - will provide tips on dealing with these emotions and the stresses of caregiving. You will also find in this very detailed section, advice and information about caring for yourself and balancing caregiving and other responsibilities. Caring for the Caregiver also provides information on the financial impact of caregiving for you and for your loved one. (Please note that while the Caregivers Handbook was created with support-givers of older adults in mind, the information contained is applicable to those providing support to people of any age group.)

An important component of balancing caregiving responsibilities and caring for yourself is Respite (time-off, a break from caregiving). This time off can be a regularly scheduled event, for example, every Saturday evening, or it can be scheduled as needed for vacations or other events. Respite services can be provided in the home or through community or residential programs. Some hospitals, nursing homes, or assisted living facilities can provide emergency or planned 24 hour respite relief. You can learn about a variety of ways you can receive respite services at the Family Support Clearinghouse. The National Respite Locator Service provides names of agencies and facilities that provide various respite services, either a few hours per day via an agency or a week or two at a time via a facility.

You can also find information on local facilities and agencies that provide respite care through your local Area Agency on Aging. Your local Center for Independent Living or the Independent Enrollment Broker can also provide information on obtaining respite services.

To empower yourself, the Caregiver’s Bill of Rights is a document that you might want to print and paste on the bathroom mirror.