CAREGIVER'S CORNER
Advocacy for the Caregiver
Struggling to balance career and family, increasing economic pressure, and the physical and emotional demands of long-term caregiving can have a substantial negative health impact on caregivers.1 Caregivers are at greater risk for stress related illnesses, anxiety, exhaustion, depression, substance abuse, reduced immune response, poor physical health, chronic health conditions and have higher mortality rates than noncaregivers. More often they neglect their own care.2
Caregivers are the backbone of our long term care system. They provide the majority of care to the chronically ill, disabled and elderly family members and friends. This can place an enormous burden physically, emotionally and financially on a caregiver. Most caregivers are not prepared to take on such demands and provide care with little or no support.3 Research shows more than one-third of caregivers continue to provide intense care to others while suffering from poor health themselves.4
We cannot choose the illness or injury our loved one is enduring. We can choose whether to take responsibility for our own personal health and well being. It is our purpose to work with caregivers as a Caregiver Advocate assisting with their personal health and well being needs. Healthy Edge allows you to remove the stress, uncertainty and feelings of being overwhelmed that you may have been feeling. Our goal is to empower you, promoting health, well being and an improved quality of life.
Peace of mind is priceless. Learn more about how we can help you while you help others.
Tips to Alleviate Stress Associated with Caregiving:
- Understand the diagnosis. Learn about a family member or friend's diagnosis. Understanding the disease process can help to manage care and plan for what may lie ahead.
- Talk about finances and healthcare wishes. Although it is not easy to discuss, doing so can help alleviate anxiety. Complete Durable Powers of Attorney for finances and healthcare to better prepare for the future.
- Discuss with family and close friends the care needed. Call a family meeting and, if possible, include the care recipient in this meeting. This gives caregivers a chance to say what they need, plan for care and ask others for assistance.
- Take advantage of community resources. Resources for the care recipient will help relieve the caregiver’s workload and offer a break. Assistance for the caregiver, such as educational programs, will increase knowledge and confidence.
- Seek support. The most important thing and often most difficult thing for caregivers to do is ask for support. Feelings of overwhelm and stress can lead to isolation and depression.
“There are only four kinds of people in the world –
those who have been caregivers, those who are
currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers
and those who will need caregivers”.
~ Rosalyn Carter
Effects of Caregiving
Impact on Health and Well Being
As a caregiver, caring for yourself is one of the most important and selfless things you can do. If you don’t take care of yourself, you cannot be there completely for the person who relies upon you. Inadequate resources, unawareness of options, lack of support, continuous care demands, compounding concerns and exhaustion can surmount to enormous stress leaving you at risk for significant health problems, including premature death.
Research on the health and well being of caregivers reveals:
- Spousal caregivers between the ages of 66 and 96 with a history of chronic illness themselves who experience caregiver related stress have a 63 percent greater risk of dying than those who are not caring for a spouse.5
- Stress of caring for persons with dementia has been shown to impact a caregiver’s immune system for up to three years after their caregiving ends placing them at greater risk of developing a chronic illness themselves.6
- Caregivers who provide care 36 or more hours weekly are more likely than non-caregivers to experience symptoms of depression or anxiety. The rate is six times higher caring for a spouse and twice as high caring for a parent.7
- Caregivers experiencing extreme stress age prematurely taking as much as 10 years off a family caregiver's life.8
The bottom line is that caregivers are less likely than non-caregivers to practice preventive healthcare and self-care. Ways in which failing to take care of themselves and how this effects their health and well being is evident as reported by caregivers:
- difficulty with sleep
- poor eating habits
- lack of exercise
- forgetfulness
- increased stress
- feeling overwhelmed and alone
- feelings of anxiety and fear, anger, guilt, disappointment, grief
- failure to rest when ill
- postponement of or failure to make medical appointments
- life after caregiving – redefining and reestablishing one’s self
Financial Impact
The financial burden of long term caregiving reigns heavily on caregivers and their families. The financial consequences are most significant for women caregivers. Caregivers lose an estimated $659,139 over a lifetime of lost wages and benefits.9
Let Us Be Here For You...
Getting the assistance you need is the best thing you can do for your personal well being and your loved one.
Contact us today to learn how we may assist you.
What more can you do?
Let your voice be heard!
Fighting for education, services, financial assistance and a responsive healthcare system you and your family need requires a concerted effort on the part of us all.
Contact your federal and state legislators and share your thoughts and ideas at:
Resources for Caregivers
ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center http://chtop.org/ARCH.html
Alzheimer’s Association
Medicare
AARP
Eldercare Locator
Healthfinder
Department of Health and Human Services http://www.hhs.gov
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Senior Citizens Law Center
Senior Housing Net
References
1 Family Caregiver Alliance (2007). "Caregiving in California.," Issue Paper #1.
2 Family Caregiver Alliance (2007). "Caregiving in California," Issue Paper #1; National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP (2004). Caregiving in the U.S. Bethesda, MD and Washington, DC.
3 National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP (2004). Caregiving in the U.S. Bethesda, MD and Washington, DC; Alzheimer's Association and National Alliance for Caregiving (2004). Families Care: Alzheimer's Caregiving in the United States. Chicago, IL and Methesda, MD; Family Caregiver Alliance (2006). Caregiver Assessment: Principles, Guidelines and Strategies for Change. Report from a National Consensus Development Conference (Vol. I). San Francisco.
4 Navaie-Waliser, M., Feldman, P.H., Gould, D.A., Levine, C.L., Kuerbis, A.N. & Donelan, K. (2002). "When the caregiver needs care: The plight of vulnerable caregivers." American Journal of Public Health, 92(3), 409?413.
5 Shultz, Richard and Beach, Scott (1999). Caregiving as A Risk for Mortality: The Caregiver Health Effects Study. JAMA, December 15, 1999 - Vol. 282, No.23
6 Source: Drs. Janice-Kiecolt Glaser and Ronald Glaser, “Chronic stress and age-related increases in the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 30, 2003.
7Source: Cannuscio, C.C., C. Jones, I. Kawachi, G.A. Colditz, L. Berkman and E. Rimm, Reverberation of family illness: A longitudinal assessment of informal caregiver and mental health status in the nurses' health study. American Journal of Public Health 92:305-1311, 2002.
8 Source: Elissa S. Epel, Dept of Psychiatry, Univ of Calif, SF, et al, From the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dec 7, 2004, Vol 101, No. 49.
9 AARP Public Policy Institute (2008, November). Valuing the Invaluable: The Economic Value of Family Caregiving, 2008 Update. Washington, DC.
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"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."
~ Albert Einstein
