According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, there were 65.7 million caregivers make up 29% of the U.S. adult population providing care to someone who is ill, disabled or aged. The Alzheimer\u2019s Association estimates that there are 43.5 million of adult family caregivers care for someone 50+ years of age and 14.9 million care for someone who has Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.<\/span><\/span> It is very important to know about community resources. There are many agencies and organizations in our area that provide support and services for caregivers. There are support groups where members share their concerns, ideas, and frustrations relating to being a caregiver. There are ten indicators of caregiver stress according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association: denial, anger, social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, sleeplessness, irritability, lack of concentration, health problems. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms on a regular basis it is time to ask for help from a doctor or mental health professional.<\/span><\/span> 301.942.6430 \/ http:\/\/caregiveraction.org\/<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n By Robert Goodman, MSW According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, there were 65.7 million caregivers make up 29% of the U.S. adult population providing care to someone who is ill, disabled or aged. The Alzheimer\u2019s Association estimates that there are 43.5 million of adult family caregivers care for someone 50+ years of age and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[60,61],"class_list":["post-728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-caregiving","tag-care-giving","tag-caregiver"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1890,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions\/1890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flnavigator.com\/healthfairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe estimated economic value of their unpaid contribution was approximately $450 billion per year in 2009. Family caregivers are the backbone of the nation\u2019s long term care system. Congress only recently recognized caregivers as a profession. <\/span><\/span>
\nAre you a caregiver?. If you are helping a spouse, parent, child, or other relative or friend perform activities of daily living (eating, walking, bathing, dressing, grooming) then you are a caregiver. <\/span><\/span>
\nThe first rule of caregiving is to take of yourself. If you are not healthy, then the person you are caring for won\u2019t get the care he\/she needs. Take breaks (even walking outside for 5 minutes), exercise, talk to a friend, eat healthy, and reduce stress. Caring for yourself makes you a better caregiver.<\/span><\/span>
\nThe Alzheimer\u2019s Association recommends several things that a caregiver needs to do to be an effective caregiver: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
\nIf you need help, ASK FOR IT! There is no shame in asking for help. That help might include emotional support (counseling), respite, or hiring another to share the caregiving duties. <\/span><\/span>
\nSupport groups are important to help you learn to be a better caregiver. Several organizations sponsor caregiver support groups. These include: Alzheimer\u2019s Association, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, National Parkinson\u2019s Foundation, and others.<\/span><\/span>
\nResources for Caregivers nationwide and in Palm Beach County:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n