Happy National Caregiver's Month

By LeAnn Thieman. This was originally published on LeAnn's blog.

​November is National Caregiver’s Month, a time to honor the nearly 50 million Americans who care for a loved one.

The approaching holidays bring joy to their lives, but it also often adds increased stress and sometimes sadness too. Often the caregivers are as homebound as their loved one.

Lessons from LeAnn
Over 40% of families who provide care for an elder have children at home under the age of eighteen. Seventy-five percent of caregivers are women. Part of the “sandwich generation,” many will spend more years caring for a parent than they will raising a child.

Here are 12 easy tips for you to help care for that caregiver:

1. Extend compassion and empathy first.
2. Deliver a heat-and-eat meal.
3. Offer to sit with their loved one, even for 30 minutes, so they can take a bubble bath or a walk.
4. Encourage them to care for themselves as attentively as they do another. Remind them to get regular checkups, to eat properly, exercise, and get adequate sleep.
5. Suggest they take time out for themselves and use relaxation or stress management techniques such as meditation, visualization, or yoga.
6. Advise them to pay attention to their own feelings and emotions and to seek counseling and support groups if needed.
7. Listen.
8. Help them to stay actively involved with friends and hobbies.
9. Assist them in finding respite care so they can regularly take time for themselves.
10. Gift them with a copy of my book Chicken Soup for the Caregivers Soul.
11. Help them tap into community-based and national resources for support. The Area Agency on Aging is great places to start.
12. Tell them how much you admire them for all they are doing.

Sip du Jour – A Healthy Quote

Rosalynn Carter and LeAnn partnered to create an amazing event that left attendees feeling loved, nourished and appreciated. Contact us to learn more about LeAnn’s speaking and training!

I was privileged to be invited by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter to speak at her caregiver’s conference. Her quote sums up how caregiving affects us all:

“There are four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.”

Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event  a success!