Family Caregivers

As we come to the end of November today we are going to revisit Caregiver Awareness Month.

In my design, I wanted to show you that anyone can be a carer. Whether it is someone in your biological family, adopted family, created of chosen family.

We all may have experienced the created family during the frightening lockdowns when we had to rely on neighbours or the people we were living with.

A caregiver has a crucial job, and a job that is constant. A caregiver may not have planned to do this job or may have fallen into it over time. A caregiver may see someone at their most vulnerable; showering, clothing, feeding, things like that. A caregiver may need to speak on behalf of someone who doesn’t have the capacity to make decisions for themselves, such as when someone is suffering with psychosis with a mental illness or dementia/ alzheimer’s.

Caregiving situations vary to the extremes. Maybe your daughter has an eating disorder, or your partner has cancer, or your neighbour has dementia and no family. Every situation if vastly different and can change from culture to culture as well.

Have you ever been a caregiver to a family member (adopted, bio, created, etc?

What kind of feelings did you go through?

Have you been cared for by a family member?

Caregiving is tough work, and it’s important to be mindful of caregiver burn out. Helping someone all of the time, even a precious family member can lead to burnout. Take care of yourself so that you don’t burn out. In the designs I have talked about burnout and tips for caregivers. Ask for help, find a support group. You don't need to do this alone. Take care

Take care of yourself so that you can take care of others!!!! Some tips for caregivers: