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The question of “how to manage caregiver burnout” when you hate what caregiving is doing to your life is commonly asked by caregivers for aging parents, spouses, and other family members. Few caregivers ask for help or seek caregiving support which can be of significant benefit to the caregiver and to the care of loved ones. When caregivers physically help with hands-on care for aging parents and loved ones caregiver burnout is more likely to occur. My experience is based on 1:1 care situations in hospital emergency rooms, nursing homes, care communities, medical offices, and in-home care situations.

What assisted living and care communities don’t tell families is a subject rarely discussed. Assisted living communities and nursing homes provide care for a large number of older adults, short or long term

Do you have power of attorney and a family caregiving backup plan? If you are an aging couple, what is the plan when one of you dies? Have your children agreed to be caregivers? Have you made plans for someone else to caregive? Are you a second family, meaning a second marriage with step-mothers, step-fathers, and step-children? If yes, this dynamic complicates the care situation. Children may be more loyal and willing to care for a parent than a step-parent

When we open our minds to sharing and learning from the experiences of other caregivers, it is possible for better caregiving support to deliver better than average care? Here are tips for caregivers to better support yourself in achieving positive caregiving results and better than average care for yourself and for loved ones. When caregivers feel better and stress decreases, better support is provided to loved ones resulting in positive caregiving experiences and better than average care. Both care receivers and caregivers who show up and take a more active role in learning about care concerns and participating in solutions experience better results.