For National Family Caregiver Month, I have been covering one caregiving topic a week. Today, let’s talk about how family members who live afar can help their loved ones who are family caregivers. This is going to be primarily aimed at family members who are related to both the client and the caregiver, so for example if two sisters and one is caring for their mom. This could be helpful for people who know a family caregiver but not the client, however this is not going to be written with them in mind. However, with Christmas coming up next month, this post could be a guide for how to lighten the load for your caregiver friends this holiday season.
Do As Much Remote and Emotional Help as Possible
Caregiving is physically and mentally exhausting. You may not be able to assist physically year-round, but you can assist in other ways. For example, you can arrange appointments and help look at caregivers or caregiving agencies. You can also help the caregivers remotely with their own needs. I talked in the last post about scheduling things like laundry pickups for the client. There’s no reason you can’t schedule those every once and a while for a family caregiver as well. These things take a little of the mental load off of the family caregiver which can decrease the potential for burnout.
Be Involved
This one is related to the first point but try to be as involved as you can be in this process. Even if you’re not doing any scheduling, touch base with the family caregiver. Being aware of the client’s treatment and condition is part of taking on that mental load. This way, the family caregiver doesn’t have to constantly be repeating information or keeping track of who knows what.
Check In On How the Caregiver is Doing
It is important to be involved in the client’s care, that is very true. However, it is equally important to check in on their caregiver. Make sure you know how they are doing, and that may mean you have calls where you don’t talk about your loved one. A strong support system is crucial to avoiding caregiver burnout.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned next week for our next family caregiver topic!
Written by Brigid Stakelum
