Care Givers Anxiety? Are you providing care for aging, sick or disabled loved one in Glen Mills, PA, delaware county, chester county area

Are You Experiencing Care Givers Anxiety?
Currently, studies show, three-quarters of those who remain in their homes depend solely on family and friends to meet their day-to-day needs with no professional support whatsoever. Sadly, family caregivers have little or no information or training about how to care for the physical and emotional needs for their ailing loved one. Rarely does anyone pay attention to the caregiver’s declining physical and emotional health, and many risk becoming patients themselves. For instance, When was the last time someone asked, “How are you doing?” Rarely does anyone really know about hands-on care, tube feedings, transferring bed-bound patients to wheelchairs or commodes, turning them to avoid bedsores, making judgments about which symptoms require immediate medical attention, and interacting with a cast of professionals often short on time, patience or shared information about the patient.
But at long last, this terrible disconnect can be avoided with professional support and advocacy. You may be looking for someone experienced in options for home health care or even care giver stress relief. You may feel stressed out, and overwhelmed with life. You may be noticing major conflict in the home with other family members.
What causes conflict?
Misperceptions. Role changes. Unresolved issues.
Misperceptions
It’s a common situation. A holiday or other event brings the family together, and there is a high expectation of joy and good times. That’s just the time when many families go into turmoil. Someone says something that is misinterpreted, and the battle begins.
These family squabbles often lead to years of heartbreak for all concerned.
Make sure before you get angry with the person you are caring for that you have your facts correct. Ask another family member for their impression of the argument -You may avoid unneccessary hurt.
Role Changes
Many of you, I’m sure, have stories of taking a loved one home from the hospital with no instructions on follow-up care and no one to call when you find yourself in trouble. What does it mean to be responsible for a sick, frail or disoriented loved one when you have no idea how to take care of them properly and nobody assigned to guide you? This can be confusing and sometimes caregivers wonder why the person they are caring for is not cooperative and caregiver stress can escalate. As caregivers you may need to make decisions that are challenging and unfamiliar to you. You find your self caring for a parent and it can be frightening for all those in your household.
You may experience resentment for input you have or decisions you are facing for the person or persons you now care for. This leaves you with responsibility, but lacking knowledge or resources needed for this new role in your life.
The persons you care for may view you as the enemy and may not understand you.
You will need to set reasonable limits before embarking on this role change, and learn to set boundaries and limits — for you , and your family as well as the person or persons you are caring for. Your mental health is very important at this time.
Unresolved Issues
Unfortunately, too many caregivers are not prepared emotionally, financially or physically for this new role. It is worse when the relationship was not good to begin with and both parties find themselves with little or no choice in the matter. Old feelings resurface and unresolved issues begin to nag you. You may now feel that you must do everything for the person you care for out of a sense of guilt, or an unwarranted sense of obligation. Angry feelings may surface and depression and anxiety can set in.
You, as a caregiver, may be feeling remorse, regret or frustration as you find yourself faced with caring for aging parents.
A skilled, experienced counselor can be of great help in this process. To learn more about counseling and how to get started, go to http://www.glenmillscounseling.org/

Common Caregiving Myths

Dispelling Caregiving Myths
Caregiving is an emotional subject which is likely the reason so many myths surround it. This article focuses on dispelling some of these caregiving myths. It’s a must-read for anyone currently involved in caregiving including those who are considering hiring or perhaps even becoming a caregiver. Below are some common myths related to caregiving:
Caregiving is a negative experience
For some, this is true. There are a number of reasons why a caregiver/care receiver relationship doesn’t work out. However for the majority of people, caregiving is a rewarding experience. Caring for another is a wonderful way to feel important and it’s a way to make a positive difference in another’s life. A sense of companionship, mutual respect, and self-worth are some of the benefits caregivers receive. For many, caring for others fills a void in their lives.
Adult children no longer provide care for aging parents at home
While stories of adult children abandoning their aging parents make for interesting reading, this is just not true. What is true is that families live further apart from one another than ever before and that situation sometimes presents caregiving challenges. But adult children are not abandoning their parents. Advances in communication make it easy for adult children and aging parents to stay in regular contact and improvements in transportation make it easy to be together whenever necessary. With services such as Comfort Keepers available, quality care is easily available to those who require someone "on location" that can help with care.
Stress and excessive demands increase instances of elder abuse
Unfortunately this is true. However, it’s also true that excessive stress caused by any type of work can trigger unforeseen outbursts towards objects or others. Interestingly, instances of elder abuse at the hands of a caregiver are higher in families where there is a history of abuse or alcoholism. Aging parents feel guilt for the pain they caused their children in the past. Because of this, they find themselves accepting abusive treatment from other family members who are now in charge of their care.
Most caregivers have a plan in place before the need arises
Not true. If you don’t yet have a caregiving plan, you’re definitely not alone. Most adult children do not tackle this issue until they are forced, meaning it doesn’t usually happen until a parent becomes ill, starts showing signs of the onset of age-related conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, or until one aging parent dies and the other has trouble resuming life after the death of his or her spouse.
Caregiver resources are insufficient
This is not true. Caregiver resources are fragmented and sometimes difficult to comprehend and even access. But they’re out there. New legislation regarding caregiving and care receiving is constantly being introduced and approved. Finding caregiving resources to which you are entitled takes patience and determination, but they’re far from insufficient.
Different cultures don’t require different approaches to caregiving
Definitely false. Cultural beliefs and differences will vary the approach to caregiving and they should not be ignored. Today’s elderly place more importance on culture than do their children therefore those providing care must be sensitive to the fact that cultural differences do exist. For more information go to: http://www.comfortkeepers.com/

Want to celebrate that special 90th birthday for an elderly loved one? Tips for planning events and parties for seniors.

If you are looking to host an event for an elderly person there are certain things you need to keep in mind. First you should look at the needs of the person you are having the event for. If the person has some impairments such as vision or hearing you need to tailor the event to that person’s ability. So say for example you want to have party for your 85 year old aunt who is visually impaired, showing pictures in their regular size may not work. You might need to increase the size of the item, the details of the item need to be pointed out to the person as small things in pictures such as your grandfather’s hat may be difficult for the person to find.
If you have a hearing impaired person, too many sounds at once is difficult for the person to decipher who is talking, what is being said over the other sounds in the room and your guests need to be told to speak slower and take their time.
If you have a person or person attending the event you need to look a the location of the event. If you plan on having a party at a local hall or restaurant and you are inviting the person’s friends or other relatives who are elderly, please remember that they might not be able to climb steps or walk far distance. Granted many places today have handicap entrances but you need to look at distance from parking lot to the party itself. Elderly individuals can tire easily if they need to walk a far distance. You might have someone on guest list who requires the use of oxygen or some special medical equipment, again location, parking and distance are important to keep in mind.
Activities should be simple, not complicated or lengthy. Elderly people really do not want to sit through an hour of opening presents. It can be overwhelming for them and tiring. If you want to have an activity put the emphasis on something that you do rather than what the elderly person has to do. For example, tell the guests that instead of presents they can make a donation to the person’s charity of choice or charity of their choice and then just write in a card we made donation to x charity. The elderly love greeting cards and old fashion types of communication. Later after the party, you can have 2 or 3 visits with the person reading all the cards to him or her.
Try not to put to much stress on the elderly person. Sometimes we get caught up in the I want this to be the most special party for him or her and we end up rummaging through their pictures or attic and it can cause the elderly person much stress. Elderly people do not like their things moved and some of that is a result of their eyesight being poor. They are fearful they may not find it again. There can also be much suspicion that you took a picture they were saving to a certain family member they wanted to give it to and that can cause arguments and alot of unnecessary stress.
The bottom line is before you plan a party for elderly person, put yourself in his or her shoes. What is their daily life like? If it is slow, quiet and routine then you need to keep the party a similar slow, quiet and routine. I am not saying be dull, have no music and go at a snail’s pace. What I am saying is planning a party for an elderly person is much different than planning for yourself. YOu need to know who you are planning for and what they can tolerate not what you want. Tolerate is the key. If you want your elderly person to have a nice time then what can she or he tolerate? If she can only stand for few minutes than we don’t want someone to do a special dance with her. If he can only communicate a few words (impaired from a stroke) than everyone trying to ask the person questions, how do you like the party is not going to work. Planning is a part of interactive caregiving. When a Comfort Keeper engages in interactive caregiving, he or she is taking the time to get the client, what the client's capabilities are and then when a Comfort Keepers performs an action with the client, the Comfort Keepers knows what the client can tolerate or what the client can do in the interaction. For example, folding laundry is an activity that many older ladies like to do. At Comfort Keepers, we provide that service to our clients but before we are active, we learn about our client (inter -personal) and then when it comes time to be active, we can be interactive when we provide assistance (caregiving) to the person. Learning about the client allows the Comfort Keeper to know that the person is capable of folding 2 or 3 towels and the person loves to fold them. We can then have the client participate in that activity thus fulfilling the mission of being and interactive caregiver.

To learn more about Interactive Caregiving and how it works, contact your local Comfort Keepers. http://www.comfortkeepers.com/

Comfort Keepers of Springfield, PA names Deidre Whitton Caregiver of Year 2008

Deidre Whitton (center) pictured with Sallie and Clark Bongaardt, Owners, Comfort Keepers, Delaware County and Mainline serving Comfort Keepers.

Comfort Keepers is proud to announce Deidre Whitton of Springfield, PA was named Comfort Keeper of the Year for 2008. A prestigious award bestowed on a caregiver who has demonstrated and fulfilled the Comfort Keepers’ mission statement throughout the year to treat clients as if they are taking care of a member of their own family. Deirdre is a shining representation of all dedicated caregivers. She maintains the highest standards in care, she is a team player willing to pick up different assignments, she readily fills in for last minute call outs and works closely with other Comfort Keepers sharing clients and assignments. She is always on time, a hard worker who genuinely enjoys her clients and her clients love her back.
In her four plus years working as a Comfort Keeper, Deirdre has faced some tough clients. With a low-key demeanor, not only has she handled each challenging situation with competence, she is also able to find the special interest, hobby or activity her clients like to do. Her skill of providing interactive caregiving is unmatched and her creativity allows the client to participate at their individual level of functioning. Comfort Keepers has received multiple, unsolicited letters with glowing accolades from clients and their families who have been touched by Deirdre. Phrases such “{Deirdre} connected immediately with my Mom and they were able to establish the trust that was needed in order to complete the daily routine”, and “Deirdre is not only capable in her duties but she is a caring and compassionate companion to my mother”, and “We were truly blessed to have had Deirdre assigned to our case…we will always be grateful for her help and good care”, are a few of the common expressions of gratitude that we have received. An accomplished interactive caregiver engaging her clients in games, conversations, activities and exercise, Deirdre’s client files are documented with notations of the positive effects of Deirdre’s caregiving on clients having been recorded from ongoing visits by our registered nurse and our ambassadors performing home visits. Clients who were depressed have reported lifted spirits looking forward to Deirdre’s visits. Clients who were struggling to maintain quality in their lives have reported a renewed feeling of hope; and clients who were lonely reported finding a new friend. For Deirdre, being a Comfort Keeper is truly a vocation – a way to give back and make a difference. All of us at Comfort Keepers are grateful to Deirdre Whitton on our team and congratulate her on her award. To see more of our award winning caregivers, click here: http://www.comfortkeepers.com/caregivers/437/jobopportunites.html