While caregiving is incredibly rewarding, it comes with a distinct set of psychological, emotional, and intellectual challenges. From dealing with the grief of losing a patient or watching your loved one decline, to ensuring meticulous oversight of medications, caregiving is challenging and can take its toll on both professional and family caregivers. Fortunately, there are a plethora of resources available to guide, educate and offfer help for caregivers. Here's a list of the top four resources available that can help you to succeed in your role as a caregiver.
Caregivers often develop emotional bonds with clients,
resulting in a sense of loss when the client passes.
Videos
For each caregiver there is unlimited potential for learning and growth. Given the unique set of circumstances concerning individual patients, caregivers need to continuously educate themselves about every new situation they encounter. While this may seem overwhelming, there are educational videos available for free online that will acquaint you with virtually every topic you need to succeed. Whether you want to find more information about caring for dementia patients, or whether you seek a deeper understanding of the physical ailments affecting your clients, there are video resources available to help you through the process.
Books
There are thousands of books you can access that will help you gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of how to properly care for your patient or loved one. Whether you're a caregiver by profession or you have assumed the care of a family member or friend, you can find literature perfectly suited to your needs. Consider visiting your local library to access free resources on aging, medical conditions, dementia, coping with grief, and more. With unlimited books at your disposal, there is a constant flow of resources to help you conquer any struggle.
Local Support Groups
Local support groups are an invaluable resource for caregivers. They provide essential support structures that can help ease the emotional challenges of the job. It will allow you to reach out to others in your community and connect with people experiencing similar circumstances. They also provide a platform for individuals to provide constructive advice to one another, so you can aid the learning and growth of your peers while conquering difficult issues together.
Internet Forums
For those who shy away from support groups, Internet forums provide an outlet to express all of your concerns and frustrations in a place that is both safe and anonymous. There, you can post questions or concerns and receive advice from thousands of people from around the world. You can connect with others who are dealing with similar problems and use their experiences and knowledge to your advantage.
Caregiving is an incredibly important job, yet it's one of the most emotionally and psychologically challenging professions there is. While it's a rewarding career path, the emotional strain and routine loss of patients can take its toll on the psyche. It's essential that those who care for others acquaint themselves with all of the resources available to them so they don't become burned out or emotionally drained by the job. To learn more about caregiving, visit mmLearn for information about how to deal with grief and loss, falls, medications, and other helpful topics relating to caregiving of older adults.
If you're looking for a comprehensive resource for family caregivers, check out our online Family Caregiver Guide.
