Well, I’m not sure we definitely answered that question on Your Caregiving Journey this morning. But, I think we have a much better understanding of emotional pain and how to manage its presence in our lives. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post. We began our discussion [...]
NPR aired an interesting story (“Is Emotional Pain Necessary?“) this morning about whether depression can be part of grief and therefore treated. Apparently, physicians are discouraged from diagnosing individuals grieving the death of a loved one with major depression; it’s called a “bereavement exclusion.” “The idea was that feelings of intense pain were normal, so [...]
Continue reading about Do We Need to Feel Those Hard Feelings?
Today on Your Caregiving Journey, Donna Ryan joined us to talk about her recent trip to Atlanta with her mom. (You can listen to our discussion via the player at the bottom of this post.) Toward the end of the show, we talked about the worry about discussing caregiving with non-caregiving friends. With the worry [...]
Continue reading about Even If a Choice, It’s Still Difficult
I’m a single Mom, late-bloomer, introvert and about 60. I live in St. Louis, Missouri. I am planning on retiring in spring of 2010 after 30 years as a computer programmer. My hobbies are reading, genealogy, reading, fractal art, reading and gardening. Did I mention reading? At the moment (January of 2010), I am thinking [...]
Dear Denise, My mother and dad have been taking care of my disabled brother for almost 9 years. She is 76, he is 81. My mother has several serious health issues, heart, high B.P., and diabetes. She had a T.I.A. two years ago and is on blood thinners. Mom (who was an RN) refuses to [...]
Continue reading about Ask Denise: How Do I Resolve a Huge Mess?
Empathy: Identification with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings, and motives. Source: Dictionary.com Because you care, you have the ability to feel for your care recipient; you are empathetic to your care recipient’s pain, mourning, frustration and fear. You feel your care recipient’s longing for a life without an illness or disability, the longing for [...]
Last week, PsychCentral.com posted a helpful article on depression (7 Myths of Depression). I shared the link to the article on Twitter and immediately received responses. No surprise—depression and caregiving can go hand-in-hand. I asked one of the family caregivers who responded, Heather Short, to write about her experiences with depression. What follows are my [...]
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