Category: Family Caregivers

Take nine people who are 65 or older. Statistically, one of them has Alzheimer’s disease. By the year 2050, it’s expected the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s will double. Right now, 6 million people are dealing with this disease.

You know all about the impact Alzheimer’s has on your life. Your dad has Alzheimer’s, and you’re considering becoming his primary caregiver in hopes of saving money. Before you make this decision, there are things you should keep in mind.

Every Case Is Different

Your dad may be calm and sweet one day and furious the next. It’s hard to predict his mood from one moment to the next. Something as simple as telling him “no” can cause him to become angry and verbally or physically abusive.

You may never experience extreme agitation. Your dad may always be quiet and calm. Just as he may constantly try to escape the house to “go home,” or he may never want to leave your side.

It’s Normal to Bounce Between Stages

There are seven stages of Alzheimer’s disease in the early, middle, and late stages. Your dad may bounce between the different stages for months or years, making it hard to know when new symptoms will appear. He may also experience some late-stage symptoms while also showing signs of mid-stage symptoms.

Organization Helps

Stay organized as best you can. If that means using an app to keep track of your daily, weekly, and monthly to-do list, do so. You might find a whiteboard is better.

Some of the first things your dad will need help with include medication reminders, meal preparation, transportation, and help to pay bills on time. It may progress to assisting with ambulation, helping him with bathing and grooming, and housekeeping.

Quitting a Job Will Impact Your Finances

Many family caregivers do not get paid. Some spend their own savings to help a parent with Alzheimer’s afford groceries, medications, and clothing. If you quit your job to care for your dad, can you afford to lose the health insurance contribution and other employment benefits?

Plus, the longevity of Alzheimer’s patients varies. You may be caring for your dad for over a decade. When you finally go to reenter the job market, you may get many responses about having been out of the working world for too long. For this reason, it may be better to reduce your hours and hire caregivers to help out while you’re at work.

Alzheimer’s disease is challenging for everyone. It’s important to arrange caregivers to help you with your dad’s care. As much as you’d like to be his only caregiver, the emotional strain can be challenging when you don’t have support. Call a home care agency and schedule caregivers for respite care.

Sources:
https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures

If you or an aging loved one is considering caregivers in Edina, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

Resilience fatigue is an actual condition that many family caregivers run into. Could you have resilience fatigue and not know it? Here is everything you need to know about this issue.

Resilience Fatigue Explained

When you’re helping your mom or dad every day, you probably don’t take many breaks. You know they depend on you, so you make sure there is no point where you’re unavailable. You keep powering through each day, even when you’re tired, down, or frustrated.

You show up with a smile on your face and a positive attitude. It’s all a front, however, as you really didn’t want to get out of bed and make the drive to your parents’ home. You’re acting cheerful, but the truth is you’ve been “on” for so long that you’re burning out.

That’s resilience fatigue. You’ve been pushing yourself to remain positive and motivated, and it’s now backfiring. You’re desperate for a break, but you can’t see how to make it work.

Why Do Many Family Caregivers Become Exhausted?

Helping your parents with their daily activities shouldn’t be so tiring. Why is it? A lot of it comes down to the extra work you take on. You’re helping your parents out, which makes you feel helpful, but you also have everything else you do daily.

You have a full-time job, so you’re rushing from work to help your parents with dinner. After that, you head home where you have to get laundry started, walk your dog, and make sure your kids have eaten and done their homework.

Many family caregivers find it hard to set limits and say no. You’re going from a 40-hour workweek to 40 hours at work, plus an average of 22 hours helping your mom and dad, and the commute time between work, their home, and your home. Holding a full-time and unpaid part-time position is exhausting.

What Can You Do?

You need to leave time for yourself. If you’re working 40 hours and have an hour commute twice a day, that’s 50 hours a week already. Add in 20 hours with your parents, and it’s too much.

You don’t have to ignore your parents, but you can set limits. Agree to help them with laundry on weekends, but they need to have home care during the week to have nights to yourself.

One of the best ways to prevent resilience fatigue is by making sure you take days off now and then. It’s okay to want to be there for your parents, but you can’t lose track of yourself in the process. Call a home care agency and ask about respite care.

Respite care enables you to take time off every now and then. While you’re focusing on your own interests and needs, your parents have caregivers to makes sure their needs are met.

Sources:
https://www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AARP1340_RR_Caregiving50Plus_508.pdf

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in St. Louis Park, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

Have you been getting irritated with your elderly loved one? Maybe you have been snippy with them because you didn’t really understand what they were saying. You might find yourself interrupting your elderly loved one because you think you know what they are going to say. If you find that you aren’t really listening to your elderly loved one, there are some ways that you can practice your listening skills. By doing this, you and your elderly loved one can communicate better with one another.

Sharing Stories May Not Be the Right Thing to Do

Have you been known to share your own stories when your elderly loved one talks about something that happened to them? You might think that you are just trying to connect to what they are saying. Maybe you are trying to show them that they aren’t alone. However, it may be best to just repeat the things that your elderly loved one has said. If you just talk about your own stories without your elderly loved one knowing you heard what they said, it could cause them to feel upset or unheard. The best thing you can do is to repeat the feelings and maybe parts of the story that your elderly loved one shared. This way, they know you heard them and you know you heard them correctly.

Trying to Cheer Them Up Could be Incorrect at the Time

Have you been trying to cheer your elderly loved one up when they are feeling down? Maybe you just want to see them happier, so you are trying to change the negative tone to a happier one. However, by doing this, your elderly loved one may be feeling as if their negative emotions don’t matter to you. They need to know that you will be there to listen to them talk about their sadness, depression, or anger. If you are constantly trying to change things to a more positive tone, your elderly loved one may not feel they can talk to you about things that are bothering them anymore.

Giving Advice or Solutions Might Not be What They Need

Have you been giving advice to your elderly loved one when they talk about something that is wrong in their life? Maybe you have been offering up solutions to the issues or obstacles that your elderly loved one is facing. If this is what you have been doing, you are probably just trying to help fix the problem. However, your elderly loved one may feel you are taking over. If they are just trying to talk about something out loud, let them do this. At the end of listening to them, you can ask are we trying to find solutions or just talking. This way, you know whether they want your help or not.

Conclusion

These are some of the ways that you can practice your listening skills when your elderly loved one is talking to you. If you can do these things, your elderly loved one may feel more heard and understood. This can improve the communication between you and your elderly loved one.

Sources
https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in Eden Prairie, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

How patient are you? If your family, friends, and work seem to be pulling you in 100 directions, how well do you handle the pressure? When you’re a family caregiver, patience is one of the most important traits to have. It doesn’t always seem easy, however.

Learn how to be more patient. Here are some of the best ways to be as patient as possible in different situations.

Know When to Say No

Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed. It’s hard telling others no, but you need to learn to put your foot down. There are ways to say no without hurting feelings. If others still react negatively. That’s on them.

Imagine your sister asks you to watch her kids again while she and her husband have another weekend alone. It’s the fourth time this summer. When you tell her no, be honest and explain you’re overwhelmed by work, household obligations, and parents’ care.

Walk Away and Regroup

When your parents are particularly argumentative, it’s tough to stay calm. If they’re in a bad mood, it can trigger your own attitude to turn negative. Know when to walk off and regroup.

Your mom has Alzheimer’s and refuses to get in the shower. She says she’s already bathed, but she smells sweaty and sour. You can’t let her skip another day. Don’t argue with her. Walk away and do something that distracts her. Music is one of the best ways to change her mood.

Once she’s calmed down, come up with a different approach. If she’s been fighting a shower, see if she’d like to relax in a bubble bath. The change may be enough to appeal to her. If that doesn’t work, bribery may be needed. Offer her an ice cream cone in the shower to eat while you bathe her.

Try a Fitness Program Like Yoga

Exercise is a great way to de-stress. If you pair that exercise with meditation, which is common in Tai Chi and Yoga, it benefits your body and mental health. Find easy-to-follow instructional videos online, on streaming services like YouTube, or at area wellness practices.

At the very least, get outside and take a walk in nature every day. Ease frustration by smelling the flowers, feeling the sun on your face, and hearing the birds sing.

Focus on Yourself First

It seems logical to want to be there for your spouse, significant other, parents, siblings, and children. If doing so means you’re pushing your own needs aside, it’s time to make some changes. When you’re stressed, you’re less likely to be patient.

Hire professional caregivers to help your parents. If you have breaks from their care, you can focus on self-care. Go out and socialize, have quiet time to yourself, do something fun, and enjoy yourself. If you’re taking care of yourself, you’re going to return to your parents’ home refreshed and energized.

Call a home care agency and ask to talk to a specialist. Discuss the things you do to help your parents each day. You’ll learn more about pricing and come up with a schedule. Caregivers will stop by and assist your parents as needed to keep them independent at home.

If you or an aging loved one is considering caregivers in Woodbury, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.