Women Today

Our friends at Unity Hospice share a message about pressure:

The pace of the world today is more hectic than ever before. Aside from long lists of tasks and errands, job pressures and the like, one thing remains the same regardless of the pace of the rest of the world: people need other people to help care for them as they age or experience serious illness.

According to AgingCare, a website and online forum for family caregivers, an estimated 34 million people in the U.S. care for other family members, with 3 out of 5 caregivers working outside of the home.

The role of caregiver naturally causes the caregiver to act with someone else’s health and happiness in mind.

Caregiving may take a toll on many aspects of a caregiver’s life. Financially, many caregivers do not have a plan as to how they will pay for the cost of caring for a family member and how this may then impact their own financial future.

Emotionally, a strong sense of responsibility for another person’s well-being and the possible guilt for feelings of “not doing enough” weigh heavily and can often result in depression. Physically, caregivers impact their ability and availability to care for someone else if they do not take care of themselves.

While this depiction of the role of caregivers and the potential impact on caregivers may seem bleak and stressful, caregivers can and do receive immense satisfaction from caring for their family members. The key to caring for someone else is for caregivers to remember to take care of themselves.

Friends, neighbors and other family members of a caregiver may consider lending a hand by offering to companion-sit with the person they are assisting, run errands, make a meal or do light housekeeping. The respite provided to the caregiver by giving much-needed time away will help brighten their day and make the person helping feel good in the process.

Unity provides comfort care to people of all ages throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Whether at a private home, nursing home or assisted living facility, Unity’s skilled team of nurses, physicians, social workers, nursing assistants, chaplains, volunteers and grief counselors ensure the best quality of life for both the patient and family, based on the individual’s needs and wishes.

A not-for-profit health care provider, Unity is dedicated to ensuring that all individuals and the communities in which they reside have access to education, support and quality holistic care.