November 22, 2021 By Sotera Wireless

November is National Family Caregivers Month

Celebrated every November, National Family Caregivers Month (NFCM) is a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country. It offers an opportunity to raise awareness of caregiving issues, educate communities, and increase support for caregivers.

The national observance is spearheaded by the Caregiver Action Network, a nonprofit that provides free education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers. CAN announced the 2021 theme, #CaregiverAnd which encourages family caregivers to celebrate the passions and interests that enrich their lives. This is a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country.

Caregiver Action Network (the National Family Caregivers Association) began promoting national recognition of family caregivers in 1994. President Clinton signed the first NFC Month Presidential Proclamation in 1997 and every president since has followed suit by issuing an annual proclamation recognizing and honoring family caregivers each November.

Read President Biden’s proclamation on National Family Caregivers Month here.

Caregivers are the unsung heroes in our community. They put in extra hours to care for their loved ones, often while holding down a job, going to school, or raising a family. Caregiving can be difficult, and many caregivers suffer an emotional, physical, and financial strain. There are over 53 million Americans who are unpaid caregivers to family, friends, and neighbors. Twenty-seven percent or nearly a third of adult caregivers are helping someone with a mental illness. Caregiving can often have a significant impact on the life of the caregiver in more ways than one. It can make maintaining your physical and mental health more difficult and may put a strain on work and social life.

Celebrating Family Caregivers during NFC month enables all of us to:

Raise awareness of family caregiver issues
Celebrate the efforts of family caregivers
Educate family caregivers about self-identification
Increase support for family caregivers

Tips for Family Caregivers

Seek support from other caregivers. You are not alone! CAN has an online care community where you can seek or offer help and support.

Take care of your own health.

Take care of your own health so that you can be strong enough to take care of your loved one. Caregivers need to pay attention to physical and emotional symptoms that can affect our own health and well-being. We need to guard against caregiver burnout and avoid becoming overly tired and exhausted, which can reduce our own body’s ability to ward off illness. Try to create a balance between caring for others and caring for yourself.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Accept offers of help and suggest specific things people can do to help you. In caregiving circles, we hear a lot about the word "support". Family caregivers regularly seek supportive relationships with other caregivers, knowing they can provide the emotional sustenance needed during difficult times. What support doesn't do, however, is change the circumstances under which you are living. It doesn't relieve you of some of your responsibilities. It doesn't minimize the job at hand. That's the work of a different word - and that word is help. The first step in getting help is the recognition that caregiving is far too big a task to undertake alone. This is true for all caregivers, but particularly for those who are assisting loved ones with multiple needs, or providing round-the-clock care.

Take breaks.

Caregiving is hard work so take respite breaks often. No one can expend their energy, strength, and time giving to someone else, especially in the demanding role of family caregiver, without replenishing their own reserves. Sooner or later, something has to give. Respite care brings temporary relief to primary caregivers from the continuing demands of someone with special needs. Respite care may be planned or emergency, in home or elsewhere, for a few hours or perhaps a couple of weeks. The purpose of respite is to allow the caregiver to rest, recharge, and remember that there is life beyond caregiving. Respite is about You. (Having someone stay with your loved one while you do the grocery shopping is not respite. It's help.)

Don’t forget your mental health.

Watch out for signs of depression and don't delay getting professional help when you need it. If you recognize these feelings in yourself, and if you've been feeling this way day after day, month after month, even year after year, you may be suffering from something more than a simple case of "the blues." You may have a mood disorder - and you may be suffering from depression. Many caregivers, whose lives have been radically and unexpectedly changed by caring for an ill or disabled loved one, slip into depression disorders. In fact, virtually half of the respondents to the NFCA caregiver survey said they have experienced prolonged depression because of their caregiving responsibilities. So you're definitely not alone. That in and of itself may not make you feel any better, but here's something that will. Depression is an illness, and it can be cured. You don't have to go through the rest of your life feeling sad and miserable. Here is a look at the types of depression you may experience as a caregiver, and how you can get help.

It's not surprising that so many caregivers get depressed. As a caregiver, you are in a uniquely difficult position. Often the sympathy and concern of friends and healthcare providers is focused on the care recipient. Little or no attention is paid to how you may be affected by the very upsetting changes that have occurred in your life. You become progressively caught up in the web of an illness not your own, and as time goes on you may begin to feel lonely and unappreciated. Sound familiar? These feelings, coupled with the knowledge that your caregiving duties might well last a lifetime, set you up as a prime target for mood disorders. Add to this the fact that women are more prone to depression than men, and that the majority of caregivers are women, you can begin to feel like a walking time bomb.

Organize medical information so it's up to date and easy to find.

The single most important thing you can do to function effectively as a caregiver is to create and maintain a comprehensive file of information about the person you are caring for. There is a variety of ways to create and maintain a patient file. Some people prefer paper, some electronic, some a combination of both. You can keep this information in any form that works best for you, although most people simply put it in a binder or folder. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to work for you.

The important thing is that it provides easy access and can be efficiently updated and shared when needed. Select a place to store the file that is logical to you – where you can grab it quickly in an emergency or on your way out the door to an appointment. Keep it up to date. An outdated file won’t do you much good when you are standing in the emergency room at midnight! What should go in the Patient File?

Care recipient’s medical history
Diagnosis
Physician Contact Information
Allergies
Health history (e.g. surgeries, other medical conditions)
Medication List
Insurance Information
Private medical insurance
Prescription plan
Medicare/Medicaid
Long-term care insurance
Dental and Vision Insurance
Legal Documents
Living Will
Durable power of attorney for Health Care (also known as a Health Care Proxy)
Power of Attorney for Finances
Contact information for care recipient’s lawyer

Make sure legal documents are in order.

Family caregivers are often called on to manage a loved one’s finances and/or adjust to reduced income and increased expenses in their own household. One of the most important things you can do once you’ve taken on this role is to get organized and make sure you have access to the following important documents.

Important legal documents