I have recently been struck by the number of people in my immediate circle who are primary caregivers for someone other than their children. I am not sure how I had not noticed this earlier in my life. I have always had friends older, younger and the same age as me, so I thought I had a wide spectrum of life experiences on my radar. Not so at all. Only in the last several years as I have focused on my own needs as a caregiver have I really started to notice just how common this state of life is.
According to Medicare.gov, nearly 66 million Americans are caring for an elderly, seriously ill or disabled friend or family member. Within our organization, 1/5 of us work full-time and are also primary caregivers. I was surprised to learn that we are exactly representative of the rest of the U.S. The 66 million indicated above is about 21% of the approximately 315 million people living in this country. Just look around you. If you are not the one-in-five yourself, one of the four people who sits near you at work is likely to be.
Medicare is concerned enough about this state of affairs that it has dedicated a section of its website to providing information and resources for caregivers. This includes documents and videos as well as links. If you are caring for someone who is on Medicare, knowing what services Medicare covers can be most helpful, and having access to additional resources can be a lifesaver!
One of the links on the Medicare.gov site takes you to a Department of Health and Human Services Eldercare locator. This is aimed at helping you find specific kinds of services near to your home when the person you care for is elderly. Many caregivers never look for assistance because they assume none is available. That is not necessarily the case. Learning to reach out and ask for help is an essential survival skill.
Those of us who currently work in the behavioral health field or have done so in the past are always attuned to mental health issues in our clients. Unfortunately, we often overlook those same issues in our own family members, friends and co-workers. According to the National Family Caregivers Association, family caregivers often experience major depression.
Family caregivers suffer from major depression much more frequently than the rest of the population. That’s a fact. When a family caregiver suffers from depression, there are two people at risk – the family caregiver and the family member or friend for whom she or he cares.
Learning to identify depression and deciding to seek assistance is essential to self-care. Just as you would assure that a client is getting appropriate services to treat depression, it is important that you reach out to the caregivers in your life who may be in need of support and similar services.
As baby-boomers become ‘senior’ citizens, the numbers of those needing assistance and of caregivers providing that help will increase dramatically. Now may be the time to learn about available resources and to provide them to those caregivers you know.
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