Caregiver Empathy
When Love Feels Heavy: How to Cope With Spousal Caregiver Resentment
Spousal caregiver resentment can leave you riddled with guilt, but you can overcome it with the right support.
You meant every word of those vows: through sickness and health, for better or worse. But no one warned you how exhausting it might feel to live those promises day in and day out as a caregiver. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or even resentful while caring for your spouse, take a deep breath: you’re not failing, you’re just human.
How Can You Prioritize Privacy as a Caregiver?
Make sure to prioritize privacy as a caregiver to protect your health and well-being.
Think back to your teenage years. Remember how important it was to find a safe place to be by yourself, to shut out the world, turn up the music, and write your most secret thoughts in your diary?
The need for privacy that began then may become overshadowed when providing care for someone else. Yet it’s still vitally important to be able to separate yourself both physically and mentally from your caregiving role to take time for yourself and prioritize privacy as a caregiver.
How Can a Caregiver Make Privacy a Priority?
Frankly, it isn’t always easy. You may feel as though you need to always have at least one ear and eye open to the needs of the person in your care. There … Read More »
Could You Be Experiencing Caregiver PTSD?
Caregiver PTSD is, surprisingly, the most common form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
When you think of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), your mind might conjure images of soldiers returning from battle or individuals who’ve faced extreme life-threatening events. While PTSD is certainly linked to those experiences, it isn’t confined to them. In fact, PTSD can develop after any deeply distressing event—including providing care for a family member. Surprising, isn’t it? Caregiver PTSD is a significant yet often overlooked issue, as the focus is typically placed on the person receiving care rather than the caregiver’s emotional and mental health.
How to Handle Loss of Recognition in Dementia
Loss of recognition in dementia is never easy to accept, but these tips will help.
You’ve been caring for your mom since her dementia diagnosis, doing your best to manage the ups and downs of the disease. One day, she looks at you with a blank stare or calls you by the name of someone else—a sibling, her spouse, or even her own parent. The sting of the loss of recognition in dementia is overwhelming. Should you correct her? Ignore it? Or embrace the new role she’s assigned you?
Recognition loss is one of dementia’s most heartbreaking effects. Watching someone you love struggle to connect the dots of who you are is never easy. However, how you respond in these moments can shape the interaction and bring peace to the person you love.
How to Respond to Recognition … Read More »
Healthy Ways to Manage Emotional Empathy for Caregivers
Balancing emotional empathy for caregivers can lead to healthier, more compassionate care for the person you love.
Empathy is, naturally, a crucial characteristic of effective caregiving. The ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes helps you to better meet their needs. However, there is a particular form of empathy you need to understand in order to guard your own health and wellness: emotional empathy for caregivers.
Emotional empathy takes caring to another level. Instead of simply understanding how another person is feeling, emotional empathy includes actually experiencing their feelings. For instance, if you’re someone who is highly emotionally empathetic, sitting beside a person who is crying will bring tears to your own eyes. If they’re in pain, you’ll also experience distress. You’re the type of person who will spring into action when someone has an immediate need.
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