Burnout

We see a blurred outdoor background with trees. In the forground, a woman with long blonde hair learns her head to one side on her upheld hand. She's looking away from the camera with a sad expression. Her eyes appear blue and she's wearing red lipstick, with the blue of her shirt barely visible in the image.

How to Cope With Alzheimer’s Caregiver Burnout

You watch your once mentally sharp loved one decline before your eyes. Their uncontrollable behaviors, mood swings, outbursts, confusion, and memory loss are heartbreaking....

The foreground of the image shows older female hands, one holding a white cup for tea or coffee. The person is wearing a print dress with a black background and lots of color in Green and red, much like Christmas. The blurred background could be a Christmas tree.

8 Ways to Ease Caregiver Stress

Most of us lead frantic lives. That’s the nature of the world today. When you add to that the job—for it is a high-stress...

The image shows a dark wood background like a rought table. Stting against this background is a white oblong rock with rounded corners and little smiling faces drawn on in black. Int the center, someone printed in block letters: GRATITUDE.

Tweak Traditions to Make this Holiday Season Realistic and Rewarding

Dear Carol: I’ve spent decades caring for all the older adults connected to our families. Now, only my father-in-law and my mom remain. They...

The image shows late fall leaves hanging from a branch in the foreground with a blurred background.

How to Stay Sane During the Holidays as a Sandwich Generation Caregiver

If one can believe the old Westerns, frontier women were the ultimate multi-taskers. They could rock a cradle with their foot to quiet a...

The cover of "Melted Away: A meooir of Climate Change and Caregiving in Peru by Barbara Drake-Vera. The image shows a colorful left margin using a South American theme. The main cover shows lots of blue sky and low clounds over snow capped montain peaks with foliage and then dry grass near the front.

Caregiving and Climate Change Deftly Interwoven in “Melted Away”

While there are hundreds of books on general caregiving and specifically, dementia care, I usually leave the reviews to the phenomenal group Alzauthors. My...

A spread out mass of $100 bills

Siblings Who Care More About Their Inheritance Than Mom and Dad’s Care

“We don’t want strangers taking care of Mom!” “We promised Dad he would never have to go to a nursing home!” “If you really...

Image shows light reflecting from trees in the background. In the foreground is an older woman with gray hair. Her head is turned toward a younger woman who has her arms around the woman from the side. They are both smiling.

Caregiver Burnout is Best Prevented Since Recovery Is Hard on Everyone

Dear Carol: My mom, age 79, has had steadily declining health for several years. Arthritis is a genetic problem in my family, so pain...

Father and adult daughter site together on a couch, each with a computer open. It appears that the daughter is helping the father figure out a computer problem. The daughter hs long brown hair and is wearing a white print shirt. The Father is wearing jeans and a white, long-sleeved shirt. The background is a room interior with shelving.

How Caregiving Can Change Your Personality

There’s no getting around it: being a family caregiver is bound to impact how you think and who you are as a person. Taking...

Background is parklike with trees and a parking lot. Foreground is a woman with long blonde hair done in a braid that's wrapped around her head. She's holding her face in her hands as though weeping. Her fingernails are polished in a pearl tone and she wears a watch with a wide black strap. She's standing up and she's wearing a black short-sleeved shirt.

Recognizing Caregiver Burnout While It’s Happening

Caregiver burnout isn’t something that happens all at once. We all have good days and bad days, which is normal. Eventually, though, we may...

Mother and daughter sit on a park bench with trees and walkway i the background. The older woman weathers a tourqouise shirt with short sleeves. She sits with her hands in her lap. The younger woman with long black hair and glasses, wears a light orange sleeveless shirt and jeans. She has on hand placed on older woman's arm and they are both laughing.

Should You Quit Your Job To Care for Your Aging Parent?

As parents age and need more assistance, most adult children do what they can to help. For many, the first step is a weekly...