Tag: caregiving

The Cost of Caring: 10 Ways to Prevent Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue can be a serious occupational hazard for those in any kind of helping profession, with a majority of those in the field reporting experiencing at least some degree of it in their lives. This is no surprise, as it is typically those with the most empathy who are the most at risk. Compassion… Continue reading The Cost of Caring: 10 Ways to Prevent Compassion Fatigue

Great Resource: Stories for Caregivers

Almost certainly, the greatest threat a caregiver faces is isolation. Caregiving by yourself massively increases this threat– a threat which for myself, turned into depression and general anti-social habits. I’m not new or unique to this phenomenon. The number one way to help caregivers cope is to end that isolation, see and hear them within… Continue reading Great Resource: Stories for Caregivers

February 23, 2017: Please stop talking past my mother

Mom, as par for the course she is currently on, does not converse easily very often. As a result, even I find myself dealing with her much more poorly in the company of other people. I think it is fair to say her ‘care’ from myself is at its lowest when I am around others… Continue reading February 23, 2017: Please stop talking past my mother

December 10, 2016: Wonderings about wanderings

Mom has been dealing with her cognitive changes roughly the same since they began– some things she has figured out how to deal with via her new brain in better, more coherent ways, but in general she has a way of doing them more or less that started when her brain took the hit a… Continue reading December 10, 2016: Wonderings about wanderings

June 6, 2016: Keep your politics in your caregiving

One of the great fortunes I have had in the process of helping Mom has been being forced to dismantle a lot of white male privilege within myself. The post goes on, I won’t do it a second time but in a sentence: Many– too many– of the skills needed to be a caregiver are… Continue reading June 6, 2016: Keep your politics in your caregiving

April 6, 2015: Pep talk to myself about our respective roles

In the transition to being “fully in charge” of my mother, one major advantage we have over many children tying to help struggling parents is that we have been dealing with cerebral issues and my intervention in Mom’s personal space as a matter of necessity since 2005. The adjustment was more problematic when I was… Continue reading April 6, 2015: Pep talk to myself about our respective roles