Don't let the stress of the caregiving for a loved one negatively affect your health. Call Home Instead Senior Care for help.
According to a recent MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employee Health Care Costs, people who are employed and who are also responsible for taking care of an elderly relative or friend, will likely have more health issues than those who are not caregivers and will potentially cost their employers $13.4 billion annually.
Anyone who has ever bore the responsibility of being a caregiver to a spouse, mother, father or other loved one or friend, knows that it can be a full-time job alone. For those who also have to hold down a full-time job on top of that, it can be nearly devastating physically, emotionally — and even financially.
Many family caregivers just don’t know where to turn. They feel responsible for taking care of their loved one and that it is necessary for them to bear the entire burden of care themselves. But that’s simply not true.
There are so many things that a Home Instead CAREGiver can help with that can remove at least some portion of the stress of family caregiving. Things as simple as running errands, providing companionship, medication reminders and shopping. Or things that you just don’t have time to do such as ironing, light housekeeping or making meals.
Home Instead Senior Care can be there when you can’t. But Home Instead can also be there caring for your elderly loved one when you need to take time for yourself perhaps to exercise, go get a massage, or simply for you to take care of other responsibilities for your job or your family. Maybe you’re called to attend an out-of-town meeting or you need to attend your son or daughter’s college graduation or other important family event in which your elderly loved one isn’t able to attend.
These are real issues that the family caregiver has to handle every single day. And it’s often tough for the caregiver to even think about taking time out of their busy day to do something for themself. The stress can cause a wide range of health issues, according to the MetLife research, such as depression, heart disease, diabetes and hypertension and many employeed caregivers experience multiple health problems. And the research also says that female caregivers, even those younger, experience even a higher rate of health issues.
“While this news may be distressing, our research points out that coordination of eldercare services and wellness initiatives may open new avenues of innovation to benefit both employees and employers,” said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. “Employers can provide support to their employees and, at the same time, reduce their health care costs by anticipating and responding to the challenges of eldercare.”
Home Instead’s process of finding a caregiver to meet your needs is simple and fast. Many times, we are able to match up the right CAREGiver to your needs either same day or within 24 hours. While our office staff has regular business hours, you can reach us anytime by simply calling 707.586.1516 to discuss your senior care needs. Home Instead Senior Care can help you get back to your main role of being a spouse, daughter, son or friend — and even employee — so that the stresses of family caregiving don’t negatively affect your own health.
Whenever we take a trip by airplane, we’re always reminded of the flight attendent’s instructions that, if you’re traveling with a child, always put your own mask on first and then help the child. It’s a great reminder for family caregivers as well. Let Home Instead Senior Care of Sonoma County help you stay healthy and provide the best care possible for your elderly parent or loved one.
Put your own mask on first.
