Elder Care Cafe

Most caregivers find out soon enough the stress caring for someone else can bring into their lives. What they may not realize is the toll that stress and chronic tension can take upon their body and mind. We discussed the two types of stress, acute and chronic, and what role they can physically in a caregivers [...]

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An area caregivers should keep an eye on in their own lives is the possibility of chronic tension and stress. As caregivers are caring for others, there is a possibility their own health may suffer. As most caregivers know, caring for someone who has their own health problems is quite a challenge. Over time a caregiver [...]

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God has given me a precious gift since we moved into our new home – the gift of Peace. Both Dad and I are feeling it, and are very much aware that we are living in a space filled with peace. As the new year descends upon us, I am preparing to write my goals [...]

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Every year since the early 1990s I have written down my goals for the coming year. Some years I have had great success by diligently following my goals, while other years life seemed to take its own course and the goals fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, that was the case in 2009. In one of [...]

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Readers of Elder Care Cafe will undoubtedly realize I haven’t posted in quite a while. It has been a long  almost six weeks mainly due to a crashing computer that has since died. I just got my laptop back from my daughter who used it while at school. Today is a new beginning for Elder [...]

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Many caregivers fall into their role when a family member or close friend becomes ill or too old to care for themselves. Most of the time no training in how to give care has been provided, and caregivers are learning on-the-job so to speak. One area that may not come to mind for new or untrained [...]

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An advance directive is a document that allows a person to make his or her wishes for treatment known in advance. Many people choose to have a written document on file stating what medical intervention, if any, they would like in case of emergency or if they become incapacitated.

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Many people don’t yet realize what having an advance directive means to them or why it is important to make sure one is in place prior to giving consent for medical treatment. Patients have the right to make decisions about the medical care they are about to receive. They also have the right to be [...]

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As the holidays quickly approach, there are a number of ways caregivers can reduce holiday stress. Planning holiday meals ahead of time will reduce the amount of stress caregivers experience as they are trying to buy presents, prepare more elaborate meals than usual, adjust to an influx of visitors, and control a budget that threatens [...]

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We are now in November and the holiday season is moving into full swing. Many people are already Christmas shopping, while others are preparing for a full house on Thanksgiving Day. For caregivers who are already stressed due to their daily duties and responsibilities, the holidays can look like a mountain they must somehow get over [...]

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The last three years as caregiver to my now 87-year-old father has been quite a learning experience. After he landed in the intensive care unit (ICU) of an out-of-town hospital last August due to a fall down a flight of stairs, he was sent to a rehab center to continue his treatment. He spent three [...]

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You made the decision. You chose to care enough for someone else that you were now their caregiver. Whether you decided to move in with the person you were caring for, or they moved in with you, you arrived at a time when you wondered how you were going to keep it all together.

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Over the years, most of us lived our lives along a continuum of day to day experiences that grew into weeks, months, and years. One day we looked back and realized just how many years we have been on earth. At some time or other most of us have faced not only our own struggles, [...]

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As caregivers soon learn, stress becomes part of their daily life. Long hours, mental and physical strain, and isolation, among other aspects, often leave the caregiver exhausted and at the breaking point. In the past, we have discussed a number of ways caregivers can de-stress when their duties seem overwhelming. Earlier this year I found [...]

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Whether you are a caregiver to a loved one in your home twenty-four hours a day or you take care of someone daily or nightly in his or her home, at some point in time you will need to address the stress that comes along with being a caregiver.

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