{"id":6966,"date":"2016-01-12T19:45:11","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T19:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/women-caregivers-dont-ignore-your-own-care-needs\/"},"modified":"2016-01-12T19:45:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T19:45:11","slug":"women-caregivers-dont-ignore-your-own-care-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/women-caregivers-dont-ignore-your-own-care-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Women Caregivers: Don\u2019t Ignore Your Own Care Needs!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of the caregivers for elderly parents are women, some sources say at least 66%, and the age of most of these women is between 48 and 49. These dedicated women have care needs of their own. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On a recent Saturday, I was notified of a dear friend\u2019s hospitalization. \u00a0\u00a0It was hard to fathom the reason since this particular 50 year old friend is, in my opinion, the picture of health.\u00a0 She is a third grade teacher, always on the move, workouts daily, maintains a good diet plan, and is a caretaker for her family. \u00a0What could be the reason for the hospitalization? \u00a0Upon entering her hospital room, I came to the knowledge she had suffered a heart attack<\/a>. \u00a0Yes, like the symptoms that are often very different for women than for men, her only symptoms were apparently some mild pain in the shoulders and back. \u00a0No extensive pressure in the chest or pain running down the left arm as is common to men. \u00a0Upon further questioning, she had also been having a great deal of indigestion, at least she thought it was indigestion, and all these symptoms had been occurring for over a week. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My point here, is as women we often ignore our body\u2019s own responses to stress and to pain. \u00a0We often carry on our daily lives in detriment to ourselves. \u00a0\u00a0This seems to be even more the case with women caregivers. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, \u201cOlder persons with long-term care needs\u201465%\u2014rely exclusively on family and friends to provide assistance. Another 30% will supplement family care with assistance from paid providers. \u00a0Care provided by family and friends can determine whether older persons can remain at home or have to be institutionalized. <\/span><\/p>\n

Within our complex system of long-term care, women\u2019s caregiving is essential in providing a backbone of support. In fact, the value of the informal care that women provide ranges from $148 billion to $188 billion annually. Women provide the majority of informal care to spouses, parents, parents-in-law, friends and neighbors, and they play many roles while caregiving\u2014hands-on health provider, care manager, friend, companion, surrogate decision-maker and advocate.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In playing many roles, it is easy to see how these women caregivers can leave themselves out of the care loop. \u00a0Meaning, taking time to care for themselves as well as their loved ones. \u00a0It\u2019s also understandable how they may become overwhelmed or even ill prior to noticing warnings signs. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So once again, I recommend that as a caregiver, you do early and often assessments of not only what your loved one may need in the upcoming days\/weeks but also what you may need to care for yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n