Yesterday, Parade magazine carried an article by author Gail Sheehy entitled, How Can We Help Our Nation's Caregivers?. The article highlighted some of the more popular factoids about caregiving.
- Currently, there are about 44.5 million Americans providing at least 20 hours of caregiving support per week to a sick or disabled parent, grandparent, spouse or adult child.
- The typical caregiver is a 46 year-old woman who also holds down a full-time job.
- Over a lifetime, caregivers sacrifice an average of $500,000 in total income.
Beyond Ms. Sheehy's article, there are other statistics about caregivers out there.
- Nearly 60 percent of the clients of California’s Caregiver Resource Centers show clinical signs of depression.
- Caregivers who live with severely disabled care recipients are at particular risk of developing their own health problems and may be at increased risk for mortality.
So the "good" news is that caregivers are likely to lose a half-million dollars in lifetime earnings. This is good news because the bad news is that caregivers are more than likely suffering from clinical depression. And the really bad news is that being a caregiver can kill you.
So, what's a caregiver to do? Pay attention to yourself! It's the easiest thing to lose sight of, but it's important that we, as caregivers, not lose sight of our own needs. Because if we do, it's likely we won't be of much help to anyone. What can we do? Watch for signs of depression -- withdrawal, unusual eating patterns, lack of energy or motivation -- you probably already know what they are! What else can we do? Make sure that we get that physical done every year so that we're monitoring our health. Choose to eat wisely. Recognize that self-medicating with alcohol, tobacco or recreational drugs will probably not help at all -- and will most likely make those troubling things in life appear even worse!
But most importantly, each of us can remember to talk to someone. And I'm not necessarily thinking about a professionall, although they can be extremely helpful in allowing you to unburden yourself and feel less overwhelmed by the responsibilities you may be facing in your life. In this case, I'm thinking about someone who has the time to listen and to care. Someone who has the compassion to be interested in what you're doing and feeling. Someone who may not understand exactly how you feel, but understands that how you feel goes a long way toward determining how you are. And how you're going to be.
Take a moment and identify who that "someone" might be in your life. It's taken me 10 years as a caregiver to find that someone in my life. Because the truth is that none of us has to walk this road alone. And if we are lucky enough to know someone who is ready to lessen our load, we may be able to look past some of those disturbing factoids and statistics, knowing that they don't have to apply to us.
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