{"id":3314,"date":"2020-01-20T14:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T20:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/?p=3314"},"modified":"2020-01-21T08:23:13","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T14:23:13","slug":"caregiving-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Brief History of Caregiving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Excerpted from The Complete Caregiver Support Guide<\/a><\/em>, by Ester R.A. Leutenberg & Carroll Morris with Kathy Khalsa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In past generations, it was customary for people to have large\nfamilies. Members of an extended family often lived within a few miles of each\nother. Few women had jobs outside the home, so the elderly and infirm were\ncared for within the family. Both the primary caregiver and care-receiver had\nthe support of nearby relatives, friends, and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circumstances are different today. Families are typically\nsmaller and are often scattered across the country and around the globe. A much\nlarger percentage of women work outside the home. People live longer, often\nwith chronic illnesses. These factors make caregiving much more complicated\nthan it was in the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The early stage of caregiving is often handled by family members\nor by friends who live near the person needing help. They begin by doing what\nthey can, and often, as time passes, assume the caregiver role without\nrealizing it \u2013 caregiving isn\u2019t a job that many people choose to sign up for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tasks caregivers perform can vary widely, from transporting\na child with disabilities to school each day, to doing someone else\u2019s laundry,\nto helping with medications, to dealing with insurance companies. Caregiving\ncan be temporary, as <\/strong>when\nsomeone is <\/strong>recovering\nfrom an accident, or long-term, as when caring for a person in need of\nsignificant ongoing support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an attempt to define family caregiving, the National Family\nCaregivers Association (NFCA) developed a list called \u201cCaregiving Is.\u201d  The following is inspired by their list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Caregiving is as diverse as the individuals needing it.\u00a0<\/li>
  • Caregiving means being a person\u2019s healthcare advocate.<\/li>
  • Caregiving is stressful work.\u00a0<\/li>
  • Caregiving challenges people to go beyond their comfort zone.\u00a0<\/li>
  • Caregiving forces individuals to deal with change.<\/li>
  • Caregiving is an endless search for balance.\u00a0<\/li>
  • Caregiving is a strain on relationships.\u00a0<\/li>
  • Caregiving can be a lonely world.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Caregiving requires a great deal of emotional, physical, mental\nand spiritual energy. Given all that it entails, it is not a surprise that\ncaregivers suffer from stress. The cost of that stress \u2013 whether short-term or\nchronic \u2013 on the caregiver\u2019s health can be considerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Stress (or the stress response) is what you feel when your body\nprepares to meet a challenge. It goes into a fight-or-flight mode, releasing a\nflood of adrenaline and cortisol. The breath quickens, the heart beats faster,\nand the senses sharpen. The body readies for action both when the danger is\nimmediate and real and when it is a matter of perception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When short term, the stress response is beneficial. It helps us\nreact quickly to avoid accidents. It keeps us sharp. It provides the endurance\nto keep going beyond our normal strength. When the threat \u2013 perceived or real \u2013\npasses, the stress level lessens and the body returns to normal. Long-term\nstress is another story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When a real or perceived threat to well-being or the need for\naction is ongoing, the stress response remains activated, releasing hormones\nover an extended period of time. The body acclimates to being in a defense\nmode. It turns on the stress response more quickly and leaves it on\nlonger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many people in today\u2019s fast-paced, complicated world live with\nchronic stress. They may come to depend on the accompanying adrenalin lift and\nfeel down in its absence. But chronic stress has health consequences. Studies\nindicate that the majority of doctor\u2019s visits are for stress-related\ncomplaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The list is long. Stress exacerbates health conditions such as\nasthma and arthritis. It weakens the immune system, making us vulnerable to\nillness. It can cause headaches, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue,\ndigestive tract problems, higher incidences of diabetes, and sleep disorders.\nIt can negatively impact memory and judgment, cause depression and anxiety, and\nlead to substance abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re a caregiver, your situation can be a perfect storm of\nchronic stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Making Life Easier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Survival Strategies for\nthe Stressed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It may sound simplistic, but it\u2019s true: Taking time to plan your\nday and organize your environment can go a long way toward reducing stress and helping\nyou feel you have some control over your situation. With your lists in hand,\nyou will not have to wonder what it is that you need to do, whom you plan to\ncall, where you want to go, or what you intend to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you do not accomplish everything you hoped to in a given day,\nmove undone items to the next day, putting those of highest priority first. If\nyou repeatedly move the same thing forward, ask yourself: Why do I resist doing\nit? Is it essential or necessary? Can someone else do it for me? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Strategies for\nminimizing daily stress and irritations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Organize your environment (cupboards, closets, a place for your keys, etc.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Go through mail daily (sort,\ntoss or keep.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Make lists in a portable notebook\/calendar you can keep with\nyou (to do, phone\ncalls, groceries.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Schedule a realistic day (important things first, doesn\u2019t have to be\nperfect.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5. Create a \u201cWhat If?\u201d plan. (What if my care-receiver wanders off when we\u2019re\nshopping?) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6. Prepare the night before (prepare meds, set the table, review to-do lists.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7. Rise before your care-receiver wakes (read, shower, meditate, or enjoy a\ncup of tea or coffee.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8. Do one thing at a time (multi-tasking isn\u2019t always effective when you\u2019re\nstressed.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9. Know your limits and learn to say No! (Protect your time, energy,\nhealth.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    10. Be prepared (food\nand postage in the house, full gas tank, extra house and car keys.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    11. Keep up with maintenance (fix, replace, maintain \u2013 yourself or ask someone.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    12. Take care of your health. (Have a physical exam, eat healthy, sleep well, exercise.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    13. Maintain good relationships (apologize if needed, forgive others, and yourself.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What will I do to make life less stressful?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    After reviewing the list above, write down the stress-relievers\nyou think will work for you. Use the space below or your journal. If you can,\nchat with other caregivers to see what they are doing to cut down on their\nstress levels. It could be anything from yelling encouragement at your kid\u2019s\nhockey game, to reading a good book, to meditating for an hour. Choose what\nwill work for you. Then choose two to implement in the next month. Each month\nthereafter, add a couple of new stress-reducers to your repertoire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Remember, it doesn\u2019t have to work for anyone else, just for\nyou. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Brief History of Caregiving Excerpted from The Complete Caregiver Support Guide, by Ester R.A. Leutenberg & Carroll Morris with Kathy Khalsa In past generations, it was customary for people to have large families. Members of an extended family often lived within a few miles of each other. Few women had jobs outside the home, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"I\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here? A brief History of Caregiving #caregiving #burnout","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nI\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here? - The Wellness Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Caregiving requires a great deal of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual energy. Given all that it entails, it is not a surprise that caregivers suffer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here? - The Wellness Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Caregiving requires a great deal of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual energy. Given all that it entails, it is not a surprise that caregivers suffer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Wellness Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wholepersonassociates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-20T20:00:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-21T14:23:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Whole Person\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Whole Person\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2\",\"name\":\"I\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here? - The Wellness Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-20T20:00:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-21T14:23:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/54759649cc139feb14a6973b2118f1a8\"},\"description\":\"Caregiving requires a great deal of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual energy. Given all that it entails, it is not a surprise that caregivers suffer\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Wellness Report\",\"description\":\"Stay Connected\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/54759649cc139feb14a6973b2118f1a8\",\"name\":\"Whole Person\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wholepersonassociates\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/stresswellness\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here? - The Wellness Report","description":"Caregiving requires a great deal of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual energy. Given all that it entails, it is not a surprise that caregivers suffer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here? - The Wellness Report","og_description":"Caregiving requires a great deal of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual energy. Given all that it entails, it is not a surprise that caregivers suffer","og_url":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2","og_site_name":"The Wellness Report","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wholepersonassociates","article_published_time":"2020-01-20T20:00:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-21T14:23:13+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif"}],"author":"Whole Person","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Whole Person","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2","url":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2","name":"I\u2019m Exhausted! How Did I Get Here? - The Wellness Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif","datePublished":"2020-01-20T20:00:53+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-21T14:23:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/54759649cc139feb14a6973b2118f1a8"},"description":"Caregiving requires a great deal of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual energy. Given all that it entails, it is not a surprise that caregivers suffer","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/caregiving-2#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/media\/products\/Complete-Caregiver-Support-Guide.gif"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/","name":"The Wellness Report","description":"Stay Connected","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/54759649cc139feb14a6973b2118f1a8","name":"Whole Person","sameAs":["https:\/\/wholeperson.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wholepersonassociates","https:\/\/x.com\/stresswellness"],"url":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/author\/admin"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1StPR-Rs","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3314"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3314"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3318,"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3314\/revisions\/3318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}