Deciding how much to share about your role as a caregiver can be difficult to navigate, especially at school or at work. Learn about some important considerations, and Dos and Don’ts before having these important conversations about your role.
Caregiving looks so different in different situations. Many people think that caregivers are only the people who live with their care recipient, who help them with activities of daily living like bathing or dressing, and are there for almost every minute of every day. In reality caregiving is still caregiving even if it is done on an as needed basis or only on certain days of the week.
May is Mental Health Awareness month, so we’re taking some time to talk about the challenges of distinguishing between medical or mental health symptoms.
What we know is that caregivers often dive in headfirst and learn to swim through trial and error, exhaustion, and feeling alone. We hope that the tips below will support you as a new caregiver as you wade into the waters of caregiving. There are six areas that we would recommend that most caregivers focus on initially.
Laura is one half of Caregiver Collaborative. She’s also a social worker and has years of experience supporting those who care.
Erin, one of our co-founders, has been a caregiver for more than 30 years. She shares her story of the evolution of caregiving and why Caregiver Collaborative is so important to her.
While there has been much attention paid on those adults that provide care, little attention has been paid to the young people who provide care for loved ones living with mental or physical health challenges. Young caregivers face unique challenges in caring for their loved ones.