Top 5 things working against home caregivers
Exhausted much? I get that.
When you’re a home and family caregiver, a lot of factors are working against you that the pros don’t have to deal with. Don’t get me wrong: professional caregivers are superheroes who have a difficult job. However, they have some advantages that you don’t. Let’s take a look at the top five things that are stacked against you so we have a better idea of how to shift the odds in your favor.
In senior living environments, there are several different specialized positions that take care of different needs. Family caregivers don’t have that advantage. You likely have to fulfill every role: med tech, caregiver, driver, activities coordinator, medical advocate, social services, and financial trustee. This can leave you too spread out and too tired out to be effective in any of these roles.
Med techs, caregivers, and nurses are educated on their roles. They have certifications. They go to classes. They get continuing education. But most of us don’t have that kind of background as home caregivers. We wing it and hope for the best.
One person has to be there, and everyone else can choose to. Have you ever noticed how one person tends to get thrust into the primary caregiver role and everyone else fills in when they can? Not when you need them, but when they can. And they sure seem busy when you need help. Professional caregivers can call someone on their walkie-talkies. Can you?
You can’t clock out. You may feel trapped in this unending exhaustion. Professional caregivers get to go home and get a decent night’s sleep away from their people. You can hardly go to the bathroom alone.
It’s not business; it’s personal. Have you noticed that the behavior that drives you insane when your loved one does it isn’t so bad when someone else’s loved one does it? There is an emotional distance from people we aren’t close to that helps us keep things right-sized. But because everything is so personal and intimate in our lifelong relationships with our loved ones, the pain is so close to the surface. We’re emotional at a level that is difficult for us, and difficult for our loved ones. Again, professional caregivers don’t necessarily have to deal with that.
When we understand some of the factors that are working against us, we can start to put plans in place to shore up the weak points. We’ll talk about some suggestions in a future post. For now, try these ideas on. Do they seem like they fit your situation? What solutions do you see? And, if you think of an obstacle that we’ve left out, please post it! Let’s talk about this shared experience of home and family caregiving together.
