Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving
My hopes are high and positive that this will be a wonderful Thanksgiving, that my mother will not get ill and that she will be able to spend it at home this year and that we make good memories this holiday.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
7 Signs of Caregiver Burnout
This was posted on the Mayor's Website in Denver Colorado
Taking care of someone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week is demanding, stressful and difficult. It is no wonder, therefore, that caregivers suffer a high rate of burnout. How do you recognize caregiver burnout in yourself? Experts have determined that there are seven signs of caregiver burnout. If you are experiencing one or more of these, you may be at risk for burnout.
1. Loss of appetite or other eating disorders
Are you eating less? Eating more? Losing or gaining weight? Eating junk foods? Skipping meals?
2. Overly emotional
Do you begin to cry unexpectedly or at inpopportune times? Do you laugh at things that aren’t funny? Are you overly sensitive to the comments of others?
3. Feeling overwhelmed
Do you wake up in the morning wondering how you are going to get through the day? Do you feel like tasks are accumulating, and you will never be able to catch up?
4. Withdrawal
Are you beginning to withdraw into yourself, and away from the world? Are you tending to bottle emotions up inside of yourself? Are you avoiding confronting people—either your care recipient or others?
5. Isolation from peers
Have you stopped participating in activities that you once enjoyed? Are you avoiding the phone calls or other friendly social advances of others? Are you making excuses for not seeing people?
6. Losing focus at work
Are you unable to concentrate on your job? Do you find yourself taking excessive time worrying about nonjob-related things? Do you take excessive time off from work to attend to the needs of your care recipient? Has your boss mentioned that you don’t seem as focused as you once did?
7. Lack of interest in appearance
Have you stopped buying clothes for yourself? Stopped getting regular haircuts? Lost interest in looking your best?
Everyone in a caregiving role is likely to experience some of these things at one time or another. Ask yourself if the warning signs are debilitating, making your life seem impossible. If so, you may very well be experiencing caregiver burnout, and you may want to seek professional help. A doctor, therapist or social worker will help you recognize what you can do to make yourself feel better, to take better care of yourself, and to meet the challenges of caregiving once again with an open heart and mind.
Taking care of someone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week is demanding, stressful and difficult. It is no wonder, therefore, that caregivers suffer a high rate of burnout. How do you recognize caregiver burnout in yourself? Experts have determined that there are seven signs of caregiver burnout. If you are experiencing one or more of these, you may be at risk for burnout.
1. Loss of appetite or other eating disorders
Are you eating less? Eating more? Losing or gaining weight? Eating junk foods? Skipping meals?
2. Overly emotional
Do you begin to cry unexpectedly or at inpopportune times? Do you laugh at things that aren’t funny? Are you overly sensitive to the comments of others?
3. Feeling overwhelmed
Do you wake up in the morning wondering how you are going to get through the day? Do you feel like tasks are accumulating, and you will never be able to catch up?
4. Withdrawal
Are you beginning to withdraw into yourself, and away from the world? Are you tending to bottle emotions up inside of yourself? Are you avoiding confronting people—either your care recipient or others?
5. Isolation from peers
Have you stopped participating in activities that you once enjoyed? Are you avoiding the phone calls or other friendly social advances of others? Are you making excuses for not seeing people?
6. Losing focus at work
Are you unable to concentrate on your job? Do you find yourself taking excessive time worrying about nonjob-related things? Do you take excessive time off from work to attend to the needs of your care recipient? Has your boss mentioned that you don’t seem as focused as you once did?
7. Lack of interest in appearance
Have you stopped buying clothes for yourself? Stopped getting regular haircuts? Lost interest in looking your best?
Everyone in a caregiving role is likely to experience some of these things at one time or another. Ask yourself if the warning signs are debilitating, making your life seem impossible. If so, you may very well be experiencing caregiver burnout, and you may want to seek professional help. A doctor, therapist or social worker will help you recognize what you can do to make yourself feel better, to take better care of yourself, and to meet the challenges of caregiving once again with an open heart and mind.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Time & Holidays
Things for now have been looking up, I’m not sure if it is because I just haven’t had the time at home that I usually do because of my new work/school deadlines, but it’s as though she (my mother) knows that this is not the time nad is not as demanding as usual, however my confusion with her since she began living here with me is that we know that by October 31st which ultimately is the start of “flu season” that she has to be EXTRA careful because of the last three or four years our experience has been that she ALWAYS ends up in the hospital missing out on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so as she was sitting outside handing out candy for Halloween I was watching her with such amazement and anger all at the same time, does she not realize that when she is in the hospital she is missing out on some wonderful family home time for the holidays which in turn means that my son and I are also missing out on that time, does she not care, does she enjoy the attention that it gets her when she is in the hospital during the holidays, I wonder sometimes, but I also used this as a tool, a tool to encourage her to keep her health in the best possible shape during the holidays, I told her that if she did end up in the hospital this year for the holidays that she would be spending it alone, I would NOT be spending another holiday in the hospital again and she would be the only person to blame if she did end up in there. She came in immediately from handing out candy and she has been taking care of herself ever since. Its amazing what a little fear will do to a person.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)