Senior Care – Senior Home Care and the Care Giver

The caregiver is a vital part of the senior home care system. They are the people who take care of the senior adults who could be their spouse or parent, and are unable to take care of themselves due to some disability or illness. Caregivers who provide senior home care are often non-professionals who get overwhelmed with the responsibilities that come along with senior home care. Caregivers also need support and understanding. If you have someone in your family who has been providing senior home care and having a hard time while at it, you should try to help them out by taking steps to alleviate their stress. The following facts would help you understand the general profile of a caregiver:

1. Usually one out of every four families has a dependent adult over the age of fifty, who needs senior home care.
2. The age of caregivers usually ranges between 35 to 65 years.
3. More often than not women assume the responsibility of providing senior home care, the figure is as high as 75%.
4. Caregivers usually spend an average of 20 hours a week, looking after dependent adults.
5. Over 65% of the people providing senior home care also work as full time employees.

Caregivers usually suffer from stress, because they have to manage a number of activities along with providing senior home care. If a caregiver at your home is exhibiting the following symptoms, it indicates that he/she has been overwhelmed with stress, from providing senior home care and need help,

1. The responsibilities associated with providing senior home care, have led to the social withdrawal of the caregiver.
2. The caregiver suffers from persistent feelings of anger and irritability.
3. The caregiver denies the gravity of the medical condition, of the dependent family member.
4. Disturbances in sleeping patterns.
5. Persistent exhaustion.
6. Other health problems arising from stress and lack of time to care for oneself.

Helping the caregiver:

1. Take him/her to a good counselor. Since a lot of problems arise from emotional turmoil, a qualified therapist/counselor would be able to help by sorting them out and providing the caregivers with coping strategies.
2. Involve the whole family in the care giving process, by sharing various responsibilities of the caregiver.
3. Make sure that the caregiver has sufficient time to recreate and look after him/her self.
4. Make use of professional services that provide senior home care facilities.