The Professional Geriatric Care Manager’s Blog

Good News for Caregivers!

We have all heard so much about caregiver stress and the challenges that caregivers face. Caregiver stress includes both the emotional and physical strains of caregiving.

Some symptoms of caregiver stress are:

• Frustration
• Anger
• Guilt
• Loneliness
• Exhaustion

Women account for almost 75% of caregivers that report feeling very strained emotionally, physically and financially.

Caregiving can also have it’s rewards, making the caregiver feel needed, promoting a stronger relationship with the person receiving care, providing the caregiver with the feeling of “giving back” to a loved one. Many caregivers report that they appreciate life more as a result of their experience and that caregiving has made them feel good about themselves.

I just recently read about a new study that caring for a loved one for 14 hours per week or more actually decreased their risk of death…this is the first time I have ever read anything like this and would like to share the report I read with you. You can access the full story at washingtonpost.com.

This is very important information for the care managers at Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management and may change some of the interventions we develop for our Clients and their families in our care plans. Working together with the caregivers we can help them to find a happy medium where their caregiving responsibilities can provide positive responses while reducing the stresses involved for the caregiver.

If you are experiencing overwhelming stress in your caregiving responsibilities please don’t hesitate to contact Distinctive Care Geriatric Care Management, located in Ridgewood, New Jersey and serving Bergen, Passaic, and surrounding counties in New Jersey and Rockland, Orange and Westchester and surrounding counties in New York. We can be reached at 201-857-5283 or www.distinctivecare.net.