We will Revitalize Your Mind!
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Revitalizing Psychiatry
Family Caregivers
There are many ways people become family caregivers
Some become caregivers slowly over many years as parents age and begin to need help with their
financial affairs, housekeeping, and other activities. Many others have an abrupt introduction to
caregiving following a loved one's disabling accident or a health crisis such as a stroke or heart attack.
Still others become caregivers when a child is born with a disability or develops a chronic illness.
There are more than 44 million people in the United States caring for loved ones 18 years of age of older.
And there are at least another 10 million caring for loved ones with special needs, younger than 18.
You definitely are not alone! We know at times it is difficult to believe that. Being a family caregiver can be
a very lonely endeavor, especially if you have little or no chance for social interaction with others. But at
some point in the not too distant future virtually every family in America will be involved in some form of
family caregiving.
Support Groups for Family Caregivers
It is not an easy task to be a Family Caregiver. We believe that sharing one's experience and pain to other
people with similar issues within a Family Caregivers Support Group can have a tremendous mutual
beneficial effect and can help in quality of caring as well as ease the caregivers' pain and frustration.
Family Caregiver Statistics
If you're a caregiver, you are not alone. You've probably heard that before, but you may not know just
how much company you have. A recent study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP found
that 44.4 million Americans age 18 or older are providing unpaid care to an adult. If we had to pay for this
care, it would cost approximately $257 billion per year.
Overall
* The typical caregiver is a 46-year-old Baby Boomer woman with some college education who works
and spends more than 20 hours per week caring for her mother who lives nearby.
* Female caregivers provide more hours of care and provide a higher level of care than male caregivers.
* Almost seven in ten (69%) caregivers say they help one person.
* The average length of caregiving is 4.3 years.
* Many caregivers fulfill multiple roles. Most caregivers are married or living with a partner (62%), and
most have worked and managed caregiving responsibilities at the same time (74%).
Caregivers and Work
* Almost 60% of all caregivers either work or have worked while providing care.
o 62% have had to make adjustments to their work life, such as reporting late to work or giving up work
entirely.
o Male caregivers are more likely to be working full - or part-time than female caregivers (66% vs. 55%).
Who Do Caregivers Care For?
* Most caregivers (89%) are helping relatives.
* Nearly 80% of care recipients are over 50 with the other 20% 18-49.
* Caregivers who help someone age 50 or older say the most common health problems the person they
care for has are diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
* One quarter of caregivers helping someone age 50 or older reports the person they care for is suffering
from Alzheimer's, dementia, or other mental confusion.
Caregivers' Unmet Needs
* The most frequently reported unmet needs are finding time for myself (35%), managing emotional and
physical stress (29%), and balancing work and family responsibilities (29%).
* About three in ten caregivers say they need help keeping the person they care for safe (30%) and
finding easy activities to do with the person they care for (27%).
* One in five caregivers say they need help talking with doctors and other healthcare professionals (22%)
or making end-of-life decisions (20%).
What is Family Caregiving?
Family caregivers provide a vast array of emotional, financial, nursing, social, homemaking, and other
services on a daily or intermittent basis.
The National Family Caregivers Association has developed this "Caregiving Is" list to give you an idea of
just how varied and complex family caregiving can be.
Caregiving itself is a multi-dimensional puzzle. For some it means providing 24-hour care for someone
who can't dress, feed, go to the bathroom, or think for himself or herself. For others caregiving is an
emotional roller coaster because a diagnosed condition has not exhibited debilitating symptoms - yet.
Caregiving can go on for a few years or for a lifetime. It means re-evaluating finances, re-evaluating job
opportunities and making compromises.
Caregiving is learning how to work with doctors and other healthcare professionals so they treat you as
an important member of your loved one's healthcare team.
Caregiving is worrying about what's wrong with dad. Why is he not remembering things anymore? Why
is he acting so strangely? And then when you hear the diagnosis, your immediate reaction is you wish
you had never asked.
Caregiving includes learning about wheelchairs, lifts and little gadgets that help you button a shirt.
Caregiving is wondering why no one ever asks how you are.
Caregiving is dreaming about being alone in your own house.
Caregiving involves learning about Medicare, Medicaid, social security and other public programs.
Caregiving is learning what it means to die with dignity and making sure that your loved one's wishes will
be honored.
Caregiving is the joy you feel when your child with mental retardation or a developmental disability learns
a new skill.
Caregiving is the joy you feel when your spouse says he/she felt good today.
Caregiving is the relief you feel when your mother decides it's time to move out of the big house and into
an assisted living complex.
Caregiving is hard work. Caregiving is pain. Caregiving is loving and giving and sharing. Caregiving is
accepting and learning new things and going on, and on, and on. Caregiving is lots of questions and very
few answers. Caregiving is being out of the mainstream.
Caregiving is all these things and a whole lot more.
Some become caregivers slowly over many years as parents age and begin to need help with their
financial affairs, housekeeping, and other activities. Many others have an abrupt introduction to
caregiving following a loved one's disabling accident or a health crisis such as a stroke or heart attack.
Still others become caregivers when a child is born with a disability or develops a chronic illness.
There are more than 44 million people in the United States caring for loved ones 18 years of age of older.
And there are at least another 10 million caring for loved ones with special needs, younger than 18.
You definitely are not alone! We know at times it is difficult to believe that. Being a family caregiver can be
a very lonely endeavor, especially if you have little or no chance for social interaction with others. But at
some point in the not too distant future virtually every family in America will be involved in some form of
family caregiving.
Support Groups for Family Caregivers
It is not an easy task to be a Family Caregiver. We believe that sharing one's experience and pain to other
people with similar issues within a Family Caregivers Support Group can have a tremendous mutual
beneficial effect and can help in quality of caring as well as ease the caregivers' pain and frustration.
Family Caregiver Statistics
If you're a caregiver, you are not alone. You've probably heard that before, but you may not know just
how much company you have. A recent study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP found
that 44.4 million Americans age 18 or older are providing unpaid care to an adult. If we had to pay for this
care, it would cost approximately $257 billion per year.
Overall
* The typical caregiver is a 46-year-old Baby Boomer woman with some college education who works
and spends more than 20 hours per week caring for her mother who lives nearby.
* Female caregivers provide more hours of care and provide a higher level of care than male caregivers.
* Almost seven in ten (69%) caregivers say they help one person.
* The average length of caregiving is 4.3 years.
* Many caregivers fulfill multiple roles. Most caregivers are married or living with a partner (62%), and
most have worked and managed caregiving responsibilities at the same time (74%).
Caregivers and Work
* Almost 60% of all caregivers either work or have worked while providing care.
o 62% have had to make adjustments to their work life, such as reporting late to work or giving up work
entirely.
o Male caregivers are more likely to be working full - or part-time than female caregivers (66% vs. 55%).
Who Do Caregivers Care For?
* Most caregivers (89%) are helping relatives.
* Nearly 80% of care recipients are over 50 with the other 20% 18-49.
* Caregivers who help someone age 50 or older say the most common health problems the person they
care for has are diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
* One quarter of caregivers helping someone age 50 or older reports the person they care for is suffering
from Alzheimer's, dementia, or other mental confusion.
Caregivers' Unmet Needs
* The most frequently reported unmet needs are finding time for myself (35%), managing emotional and
physical stress (29%), and balancing work and family responsibilities (29%).
* About three in ten caregivers say they need help keeping the person they care for safe (30%) and
finding easy activities to do with the person they care for (27%).
* One in five caregivers say they need help talking with doctors and other healthcare professionals (22%)
or making end-of-life decisions (20%).
What is Family Caregiving?
Family caregivers provide a vast array of emotional, financial, nursing, social, homemaking, and other
services on a daily or intermittent basis.
The National Family Caregivers Association has developed this "Caregiving Is" list to give you an idea of
just how varied and complex family caregiving can be.
Caregiving itself is a multi-dimensional puzzle. For some it means providing 24-hour care for someone
who can't dress, feed, go to the bathroom, or think for himself or herself. For others caregiving is an
emotional roller coaster because a diagnosed condition has not exhibited debilitating symptoms - yet.
Caregiving can go on for a few years or for a lifetime. It means re-evaluating finances, re-evaluating job
opportunities and making compromises.
Caregiving is learning how to work with doctors and other healthcare professionals so they treat you as
an important member of your loved one's healthcare team.
Caregiving is worrying about what's wrong with dad. Why is he not remembering things anymore? Why
is he acting so strangely? And then when you hear the diagnosis, your immediate reaction is you wish
you had never asked.
Caregiving includes learning about wheelchairs, lifts and little gadgets that help you button a shirt.
Caregiving is wondering why no one ever asks how you are.
Caregiving is dreaming about being alone in your own house.
Caregiving involves learning about Medicare, Medicaid, social security and other public programs.
Caregiving is learning what it means to die with dignity and making sure that your loved one's wishes will
be honored.
Caregiving is the joy you feel when your child with mental retardation or a developmental disability learns
a new skill.
Caregiving is the joy you feel when your spouse says he/she felt good today.
Caregiving is the relief you feel when your mother decides it's time to move out of the big house and into
an assisted living complex.
Caregiving is hard work. Caregiving is pain. Caregiving is loving and giving and sharing. Caregiving is
accepting and learning new things and going on, and on, and on. Caregiving is lots of questions and very
few answers. Caregiving is being out of the mainstream.
Caregiving is all these things and a whole lot more.
