Ten Tips for Family Caregivers

This blog post originally appeared in January 2015. During National Family Caregivers Month, we honor you and hope you will find these resources helpful.

Ten Tips For Family Caregivers

1. Seek support from other caregivers. You are not alone!
2. Take care of your own health so that you can be strong enough to take care of your loved one.
3. Accept offers of help and suggest specific things people can do to help you.
4. Learn how to communicate effectively with doctors.
5. Caregiving is hard work so take respite breaks.
6. Watch out for signs of depression and don’t delay in getting professional help when you need it. Caregiving can be very isolating.
7. Be open to new technologies that can help you care for your loved one.
8. Organize medical information so it’s up to date and easy to find.
9. Make sure legal documents are in order.
10. Give yourself credit for doing the best you can in one of the toughest jobs there is!

By Nicole Clagett, Community Educator
Nicole is executive director and co-founder of Transitions GuidingLights, a caregivers support center serving the NC Triangle.