caregiving
You’ve tried everything to help your parents, and nothing has worked. Sometimes you must wait for a crisis to happen before you can make changes. Geriatrician Leslie Kernisan refers to this as “watchful waiting.” In the meantime, you continue to monitor the situation. You stay engaged with your parents but pull back on suggestions.
If your parent is experiencing memory loss, it’s unlikely they have insight that they need help. It’s probable they won’t accept support and are unwilling to make changes as a result. Lack of insight or awareness is common with cognitive change. This is where you need to shift your perspective and determine if your parent can make that decision anymore, or if this is a decision you’re going to have to make on their behalf.
Picking Your Battles: We cannot wrap our parents or others we care about in bubble wrap to keep them perfectly safe nor can we sit by idly allowing dad to put others at risk by driving beyond the point of doing it safely. How can we best help them?
It’s not uncommon for family caregivers to experience depression, isolation, and increased rates of chronic health conditions. This is why recognizing and addressing caregiver burnout and setting healthy boundaries are priorities. As a family care partner, it’s essential to recognize the warning signs of caregiver burnout, as well as healthy and effective strategies for managing caregiver stress before it turns into burnout.
Have you ever tried talking with your parent or partner about concerns you have regarding their health or memory? Were your concerns dismissed, minimized, or completely shut down? As Aging Life Care professionals, we address this issue frequently: the person you care about may be experiencing “lack of insight.”
“Transformation happens when someone feels safe and seen and heard. And when people are recognized as who they are rather than what they’re living with or a diagnosis they’ve been given,” reflects Tami Sandygren, Care Manager Associate.
As we grow older, we all experience cognitive change. Our brain, like the rest of our body, naturally changes as we age. Changes in cognition can be subtle and most changes are normal. Misplacing keys or taking longer than usual to recall a person’s name or a word are common examples. There are times, however, when we notice changes that a consistent, repetitive, and may suggest cognitive impairment.
Geriatric Care Managers wear many hats: team member, navigator, diplomat, advocate, collaborator. Additionally, the services and supports they provide are not cookie cutter solutions, but tailored to each client’s needs, finances, and goals.
Our colleague Wendy Nathan, along with Sandra Cook, Regional VP at Aegis Living, wrap up this series by talking about caregiver guilt and the need to make time for self-care. Caregiver guilt is normal and a complicated emotion. You will likely experience moments of self-doubt, stress, exhaustion, and times of feeling overwhelmed, even frustrated. Again, that’s all normal. […]
Every situation has its own variables, just as each family has its own system and dynamics. This can often rank at the top of obstacles to providing the support an aging parent may need. Risk assessment and risk tolerance play a part as well, especially if the person in your care is living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
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