The Longer We Care, the Greater the Toll
New research confirms what we already know.
I hope you are doing okay today. Feel free to write a six-word story about your Thanksgiving.
A few articles stood out to me this week:
What Should We Do About Our Parents from Honolulu Magazine: The article offers both stories and insights about what family caregivers need. My only quibble with the article is in this quote: “But a huge percentage of caregivers don’t pay attention to their own health.” It’s not that we don’t; it’s that we can’t because of how much we have to do, manage, oversee, decide, choose, navigate. I am frustrated that it seems to be our fault when our health suffers. It’s the systems demanding too much of us that’s at fault.
Caregivers Experience Decline in Well-Being, research from University of Zurich: “New research, based on data from more than 28,000 caregivers in three countries, shows that the longer individuals spend caring for loved ones, the more their well-being suffers, regardless of the caregiving context. These findings underscore the need for policy discussions to alleviate the burden of informal care.” My huge quibble is that suggestion that we need policy discussions. We need action; we’re in a crisis heading into a catastrophe.
Several years ago, a colleague asked me what policy should employers adopt to support family caregivers. My colleague had just attended an event featuring a panel discussion with leaders of national caregiving organizations. Another attendee posed that very question to one of the panelists, who couldn’t answer the question. So my colleague asked me.
My answer:
Every organization and community needs to help their employees and their members create a Family Emergency Plan. With a plan, individuals also have support and resources, which means they aren’t managing emergencies on their own. They also continue to connect with support and resources as they manage the impact of an emergency.
The best day to build support is on your best day. The worst day is on the day of a family emergency, when we struggle with so much stress and overwhelm.
We’ve been helping individuals create Family Emergency Plans for free for the past five years. Attendees overwhelmingly recommend this free session.
I believe it’s more important than ever that everyone has a Family Emergency Plan. Our weather is more intense, our direct care workforce shorten worsens and funding for services that help could be affected.
We need to plan for the What If’s.
We’re hosting our next free planning session on December 4 at Noon ET. Register to join us.
What action do you want our communities to take to better support you?
Thank you for being a part of my community.
Resources
We want to know what’s it like to manage The 17 Caregiving Systems. Our interns from the Community Health Program at University of Illinois would love to connect with you to hear your experiences. Learn more and schedule your interview.
Today’s the last day to enjoy our Black Friday Deal: free Kindle books and free Caregiving Advocate training.
We’ll host our 36-Hour Christmas Chat this year, opening our chat room at Noon ET on Christmas Eve to offer you good company when you want a break from holiday stress. Join our community, Caring Our Way, to connect with us.
Thank you for sharing the study on caregiver decline, Denise.I agree that we need more support for our caregivers. It's studies like this one that can help pave the way for policy reforms and societal shifts that prioritize caregiver support, ensuring they don’t sacrifice their own health and happiness in the process.
Denise, this is such important information, which so often comes to caregivers too late in the game. Your point about the insensitivity (my word) of blaming caregivers for not taking care of their own health is so well taken. Unless someone has lived the experience, it’s difficult to understand.