The Importance of Respite for Caregivers

Every caregiver needs respite time if he or she is to last. It may be hard to think of yourself and your needs at this time, but if you don’t, your life will be consumed by your duties and you will burn out. Respite (a temporary break from responsibility) is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Your care receiver’s level of disability determines whether he or she can be left alone and for how long. Care options include:

• Asking a family member or friend to stay with your survivor for an hour or two.
• Taking him or her to adult daycare (if ambulatory).
• Employing a professional sitter or health care aide for a few hours a week or month.
• Hiring a college student (if skilled care is not needed) to stay with your care receiver.
• Enrolling the person in your care in a support group.

Check with your local Area Agency on Aging for respite-care programs in your area. Larger churches often have outreach programs that include respite care.

The Importance of Respite for Caregivers originally appeared on Caring.com.

Caring.com was created to help you care for your aging parents, grandparents, and other loved ones. As the leading destination for eldercare resources on the Internet, our mission is to give you the information and services you need to make better decisions, save time, and feel more supported. Caring.com provides the practical information, personal support, expert advice, and easy-to-use tools you need during this challenging time.

By Maria M. Meyer and Paula Derr, Caring.com

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Berny P.

2:37PM PDT on Apr 25, 2011

care givers are special people but sometime this destroy their relationship and there family so sometime you have to make a choice as we cannot be 100% for everyone!

send a green star

KS G.

7:57PM PDT on Apr 21, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Grace K.

1:19PM PST on Feb 10, 2009

I've always been in awe of the ability of caregivers to keep on keeping on. I know from having worked in the back office of a non-profit organization that the burn-out rate can be brutal. Those who survived in the long-term were people who kept their boundaries intact and had lives outside their care-giving duties.

Thanks for this reminder to put our own oxygen mask on first.

Grace Kerina
www.HealthyBoundariesHandbook.com

Odinsbacklash L.

12:17PM PST on Jan 22, 2009

Theres truth in this...though I think from experience you can be stressedand not even realize it.My father died 3 weeks ago.I left my career on the West Coast to take care of him after he had his first strokes.From there he got diagnosed with Alzheimers,he had more strokes,he got a total of 5 skin cancers removed.Then his Alzheimers seemed to be in remission.He tried going back to work part time as a security guard but only for a year.Then it was one health issue after another,then he had a diagnosis with lung cancer!(Nobody smokes in my family but Dad DID have a history of socializing in smoky bars and,even after NJ passed the smoke ban many bars ignored the law.Don't tell me second hand smoke is not deadly.)

So Dad never was able to get chemotherapy because he was too weak from every other infection.He lost his appetite-I was cooking ALL his meals,I mean I stayed in this apartment for literally months at a time.He didn't wanna eat,His potassium level was messed up.Too weak for chemo,he was constantly on antibiotics too.And he ended up with pneumonia.Was in and out of the hospital.Was in a nursing home twice.We finally had an occasional physical therapy nurse and a lady to bath dad.Til insurance chose to stop paying for it and my mom had to bathe him.

Now Dad is dead and I shut off my outward emotion for the viewings and funeral.Didn't want to run my makeup in public.But now I still cannot cry much.Not sure if thats "normal".

Yes its been stressful.

Jenny D.

12:08AM PST on Jan 17, 2009

There is nothing more true than that, Randy! Unfortunately, many people only associate the term caregiver with someone who takes care of the elderly. My youngest son is autistic and non-verbal. He turned ten this last October and we have been without any formal respite care for the last seven years. (We are stationed overseas with the military and they don't provide respite care.) We love him and he is one of the greatest joys in our lives, but he is a daily challenge. My husband and I make sure that we get some "down" time individually and together at least once a week. People with children who require caregivers should not be discounted. It is those of us who have the longest haul ahead. My mother may need care for the next ten or fifteen years, but my son has required it all of his childhood and will continue to need it until we are much too old to care for him ourselves (probably for the entirety of his life). We have set up specific investment accounts for him so that he won't end up as a ward of the state when it gets to the point where we need care. I'm not discounting how difficult it is to care for elderly parents, only that those of us with children who will require lifetime care are frequently left out of this equation.

I'm not fussing, just commenting!! My mother says (half-jokingly) that she isn't worried about how well I will care for her, if and when she needs it. I have had years of training with my son! Bless every caregiver - we need it!

Randy P.

3:22PM PST on Jan 16, 2009

As the saying goes, "if you're not good to yourself, you no good to anybody".

There's just about nothing more draining than being a caregiver. I don't know how you do it, but thank goodness for all you caregivers out there!!