national profile of caregivers found that 67%
of caregivers felt frustration while nearly 40%
felt sad and anxious.
Half of all caregivers experienced back pain,
sleeplessness and depression.
You are going to take on a caregiving role. After
thinking it through, you know you can do it. Or,
you may be like so many and not have a choice.
It could be thrust upon you before you've had a
chance to think.
One of the things you should be prepared for are
the wide range of emotions you will experience.
And these emotions are normal. Don't beat yourself
up.
Having my Mom live with me has shown just how
many emotions a body can experience. The ups and
downs of the caregiving rollercoaster ride.
Happiness, sadness, joy, depression, anger, frustration,
guilt, compassion and love. There will be days you'll
run through them all! And wonder how you will live
to cope another day.
Now that my mother has passed away and I've had
time to think back on our many years together, I'm
going through a lot of the same emotions.
The biggest is regret. I know the experts say that is
part of the grief process. But my regrets are that I
didn't have more information at the time. I thought
we were doing fine. Now I wish I could have the chance
to do it again.
I work in a library, for pity's sake. I help others find
information and resources they need. But not for me.
What they say about the cobbler's kids going without
shoes now makes sense to me.
What makes it extremely hard when caring for your
parent is the unresolved conflicts from the past. Put
a child and parent back together and you soon find
out that this role will never change.
Being a caregiver, I know your time is limited. But
please find out all you can. Libraries, support groups,
bookstores, senior services, etc...
If I could change anything, it would be to go back
and do it all again. But only better. I'm sorry, Mom.
I loved you. And always will...
Goodnight...
~~Karen
