CONTACT: Pamela D. Wilson 888-393-7754

Email:   Inquiry_For_Pamela@pameladwilson.com

Golden, Colorado – May 9, 2019

10 Reasons (Some Humorous and Not So Humorous) Why Caregiving Can Drive You Crazy

Caregiving isn't a job that one applies for – it's a job that just happens. On the job training can feel like being on a roller coaster with all of the ups and downs especially when caregivers have no idea of the responsibilities and no life experience.

Situations and care needs change overnight. Good news and bad news arrives on the same day. It's no wonder that caregivers and aging parents or spouses become burned out and emotionally drained by caregiving.

Pamela D. Wilson, MS, BS/BA, NCG, CSA is a national caregiving expert with more than 20+ years of experience. Her mission is to support caregivers and aging adults in navigating all of the changes that result from needing care and becoming a caregiver. Caregiving is a family issue that is rarely discussed until the need. Online support groups and courses for caregivers and aging adults are available on her website.

By being proactive and participating in caregiving support groups and courses, caregiving can become easier and less of a struggle. Pamela also believes that humor and laughter belong in caregiving because when situations look bleak and hope may be lost, caregiving can drive one crazy. Laughter, even about situations gone wrong, can help caregivers regain the perspective that even when things go wrong, solutions exist.

Here are 10 Reasons (Some Humorous and No So Humorous) Why Caregiving Can Drive You Crazy

1 Caregivers have to do things never before imagined like change Depends, clean catheter bags, or bathe an aging parent. What son every thought he would have to talk to mom about being incontinent and making sure that she cleans "down there" to avoid urinary tract infections.

2 Family disagreements over who will be the caregiver and making the right caregiving decisions can turn into unexpected battles. Brothers and sisters who never lift a finger to help are really good at telling the sibling who does all the work what to do. When help is requested the same brothers and sisters quickly run the opposite direction because while they're great at giving advice, they're bad about taking their own advice.

3 Aging parents feel a loss of independence and struggle to retain some sense of control over a life that becomes more narrow with time. Friends pass away, driving stops, and health declines.  Isolation results in loneliness and depression. At the time of life where retirement should be golden, sometimes life turns out to be filled with grief and loss.

4 The health care system doesn't speak the same language Few explanations occur about the consequences and options of treating or not treating chronic disease. Medical appointments last 15 minutes. Prescriptions are written with no explanation. When caregivers and aging adults don't understand information or are fearful of asking questions care situations get worse instead of better. Frustrations are on the rise and distrust in the system happens.

5 The health of aging parents and spouses keeps declining. Uncertainty exists about what to do about caregiving situations. Where is the manual that tells caregivers what to do in this and all caregiving situations? Don't be shocked when the health care system tells you that being old means you may not get all the care that you want, especially if you have a diagnosis of dementia.

6 Caregivers give up social activities and friends in favor of time spent in caregiving activities. Life becomes imbalanced like an uneven teeter-totter with the weight of caregiving on one side. Caregivers feel like their lives are on hold and everything is up in the air because of caregiving responsibilities.

7 Because adult children caregivers are stretched for time, it feels easier to take control of the situation by telling aging parents and loved ones what they must do.  Note to self: this usually does not work out the way that one thinks. Parents rebel. No one wants to be told what to do including aging adults and their caregivers.

8 The shock that Medicare doesn't pay for everything. Who thought families would have to pay for in-home caregivers and all of the costs that insurance doesn't reimburse. By not talking about caregiving and aging, we dig our heads in the sand, hoping that it will never happen. Surprise – caregiving and needing care happen to us all.

9 No one told me caregiving or aging would be like this. Of course not it's just like no one tells you how having children will drastically change your life. Or that getting your tonsils out really doesn't mean that you can eat all the ice cream you want. It may be better not to know how life will change overnight so that one does not fret about the future.

10  Caregiving is hard and sometimes thankless work. Tasks and responsibilities increase with time. Caregivers want to do it all. This desire to "be everything" results in physical health declines and emotional stress. Asking for help is a solution that many caregivers fail to see as an option – not until a disaster strikes – maybe multiple times – do caregivers get help because of the realization that "being everything" doesn't turn out the way one expects.

-30-