Caregiving for a Loved One by Carolyn Brent

Caregiver Companion Author Carolyn A Brent Talks About Caregiving and Offers Tips

Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 4 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Carolyn A. Brent whose book The Caregiver’s Companion: Caring for Your Loved One Medically, Financially and Emotionally While Caring for Yourself is celebrating its big Amazon launch on January 27^th2015.

Carolyn A. Brent is a nationally acclaimed author, speaker and caregiver advocate. She has dedicated her life to preparing caregivers and their loved ones to face end-of-life issues. Carolyn is the founder of Caregiver Story, a non-profit organization that provides free medical, legal and wellness resources to the public.

Yesterday, Carolyn visited Kate Beddow at http://www.katebeddow.co.uk/the-caregivers-companion/, where she interviewed Carolyn on the topic of tips for staying healthy, loved ones accepting help and transitioning back to living for yourself.

Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Carolyn when I got to ask her about starting the caregiving talk, self-love self-care and tips to get family involved. I hope you enjoy it.

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Krystalya Marie’:  When is the right time to start conversations about care giving potentials and possibilities for our aging parents? And, what are a few top priority things that should be considered in this conversation?

Carolyn A. Brent: I suggest now is the right time to start having caregiving, and end-of-life crucial conversations.  However, it is best NOT to have these types of conversations during the holidays because the subject matter maybe too heavy.

• We should start having these conversations when kids are at the age of when their parents talk to them about; “Where babies come from”?
• Top priorities:
  Plan an agenda for the conversation. For you and your family members, this could be to discuss your loved one’s health or ways to support the primary caregiver. For you and your loved one, this could be to determine his or her end-of-life wishes; to examine his or her finances, insurance policies or legal documents; or to check on his or her health and well-being.
• Unexpected life-threatening emergency; “Who will be responsible for your loved ones well being”?

 Krystalya Marie’:  I’m a Self-Love enthusiast, how do you suggest that my readers take care of their parents without sacrificing their own needs for self-love and self-care?

Carolyn A. Brent: This is a question many caregivers ask time and time again, to avoid caregiver burnout by sacrificing your own health. The caregiver must adopt positive coping mechanisms.

• Embrace your feelings instead of running from them. Caregiving can trigger a host of difficult emotions, including anger, fear, resentment, guilt, helplessness and grief.
• Educate yourself as much as possible about your aging loved one’s condition so that you won’t experience the added strain of not knowing what needs to be done.
• Know your limits, that is, how much you can realistically handle as a caregiver. Don’t overexert yourself.
• Ask for Help; ask your immediate family and extended family for help if you feel you are going beyond your limits. Otherwise, seek help in your community, from doctors and from caregiver support groups.
• Get Respite Care, which will give you the break you need in order to recharge yourself.

Krystalya Marie’:  What are some tips you can share with our readers on how best to get all of the family involved, so that no one person takes on the entire Caregiving effort?

Carolyn A. Brent: The everyday care of your loved one should not be left entirely to the primary caregiver simply because this person lives closest or has volunteered. It is best practice to make caregiving a family affair. Even if one person is the primary caregiver, caregiving is accomplished more effectively when it is a team effort.  Caregiving consumes time, energy and financial resources. Relatives of a primary caregiver can make the caregiver’s life easier by providing:

• Emotional support. Have regular check-ins or conferences. Touch base with one another by phone on a regular basis.
• Financial support and the support of being present so the caregiver can take some time off.
• Divide the tasks. If everyone takes on different responsibilities, the workload is lightened. For example, one relative could handle the medical aspects of care. Another could handle the financial aspects of care. Yet another could handle the grocery shopping and/or meal preparation. Remember, caregiving should be a family affair.

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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Carolyn A. Brent and that you’ll check out her book on Amazon January 27, 2015:

The Caregiver’s Companion:

Caring for Your Loved One Medically,

Financially and Emotionally While Caring for Yourself

 Thanks for reading! Please share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.

AND… be sure to follow Carolyn tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is Renee Baribeau, who will be interviewing Carolyn on the subject of the self-care, overcoming guilt and reconcile death/maintaining stance as primary caregiver. To visit that “stop” on the tour, go to http://thepracticalshaman.com/carolyn-brent-blog-tour/