Caregiver 101
The Reverse Gift List
It’s called the “Reverse Gift List” game. It’s easy and fun for the entire family. Here’s how it’s played. The only things you will need are a pencil, paper and a little faith.
Living With Your Home Health Care Aide
You’ve made the decision to let an aide come into your home to assist. That was hard enough. Now you’re getting apprehensive about what to expect when the aide arrives for work.
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6 Things to Remember as You Start to Care for Your Parents
Whether you are an adult child or a parent trying to communicate with your kids, here are six suggestions for overcoming some of the obstacles and frustrations we commonly experience during this time.
Safety Begins at Home
If you're among America's 54 million caregivers, knowing how to evacuate a loved one or how a loved one can take shelter during an emergency may not be as easy as just stepping out a door, or crawling out a window...
Respite for Two
Adult day care centers provide a break (respite) to the caregiver while providing health services, therapeutic services and social activities for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, ...
The Caregiver’s Balancing Act
In the 1960s, TV celebrity Ed Sullivan featured a Chinese talent artist who demonstrated the careful balance and timing of spinning porcelain plates atop thin, wooden sticks.
Fearless Caregiver Emotional First Aid Kit
You can find respite from your caregiving in the simplest things.
© Pavel Losevsky /123RF.COM
After Caregiving: Picking Up The Pieces
As a caregiver, we totally commit ourselves to caring for another person who no longer functions as they once did in the normal scheme of life. We move in with them or move them to us.
©Cathy Yeulet /123RF.COM
Some Things I Have Learned
I have learned to learn about the illness. In my case, I have learned about 11 illnesses only to find that any one of them may crop up and have symptoms at any time and last for a few minutes, a few hours, a few days or even months.
I'm Fine, Thanks
That is the life of a caregiver. You are always fine because the focus is always on the person that you care for. You are “just fine” because if you think of allowing yourself to be anything other than fine, your legs will come out from under you.
Emotional Fatigue
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, founder of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, says there are four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those
Ten Ways to Maintain a Positive Attitude
1. Learn healthy ways to manage your stress
Forty-Eight Mental Breaks for Caregivers
Caregiving takes a lot of time. Even if you had spare time to daydream in the first place, it’s probably gone now. However you must give yourself a mental break once in a while.
The ABCs of Caregiving
Throughout our lives, we each perform a variety of different roles. For me, I have been a daughter, sister, student, sales clerk, secretary, coach, and a writer. The one role I thought I would never assume is now the main focus of my life ...
When Caregiving is Not Enough - Finding Good Homecare
Anyone who has ever looked for home-based care for a loved one comprehends what a daunting experience it can be.
Positive Aspects of Caregiving
Caring for a person with a debilitating illness is often challenging. It becomes all the more difficult when the person is in the throes of Alzheimer’s disease
Respite: Enjoy a Guilt-Free Summer
Why is it that the words “respite” and “guilt” seem to go hand in hand? Why do caregivers feel we are somehow failing our loved one by admitting that we need help,
Top Ten Ways To Care For Yourself
1. Keep a journal. Start today. Describe your fears as well as your hopes, the reality of what each day is like
Tips for Organizing a Medical History
A trip to the emergency room made me realize why caregivers are advised to organize heath information.
