It may be selfish, but there are times that I can honestly say I’ve had enough. I care for my elderly grandmother who is in the later stages of Alzheimer’s, and I try to be everything for her; but I just can’t do it all. Say what you will, maybe I’m selfish to say it’s too much for me, but I’ve learned that it’s okay to focus on me now and again. After years of providing for my own family, balancing a career, and acting as the primary caregiver for my elderly grandmother, I’m burning out. Maybe taking a step back is selfish, but I also feel like it will be doing her a favor, because I’ll be better equipped to care for her.

From now on, when I feel stressed, I’m going to do something for me. If that means hiring a home caregiver who specializes in Alzheimer’s to take over for a week, while I hit the spa; I’m going to do it. Sometimes caring for someone you love who has Alzheimer’s is hard; my grandmother doesn’t necessarily realize how much she’s changing, but it can be hard not to take it personally when she doesn’t recognize me or attacks me emotionally because she’s in one of her moods that come with the disease. So that’s it, sometimes it’s got to be about me too; as much as I love my grandmother, I think it’s best for both of us. If selfish is the label that applies to me, then bring it on.

Sources:

1. Health and Age
2. ProQuest

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

Coming up with fun activities for seniors and their home caregivers to do together can be tough; especially when there is a generational gap to contend with. Finding mutual interests for seniors and their caregivers is undeniably challenging, but there are activities out there that will bridge the gap and allow home caregivers to have a great time with their elderly care recipients in Bakersfield, which is also great for the summer months to take advantage of the beautiful weather. One great activity idea for seniors and their caregivers is digital photography, which can also help to memorialize the things that are important to seniors while allowing them to express their creativity.

When encouraging a senior to start digital photography as a new hobby with a senior home caregiver, allow them to pick locations and photography subjects that have significance to them, and make sure that they have access to a camera that is well-suited to their technological abilities and motor skills. Digital cameras for seniors should have larger display screens for ease of viewing, bigger buttons to aid when dexterity is limited, and should only have features which are appropriate for the senior’s technical abilities.

If a caregiver approaches you about trying digital photography with an elderly family member of yours; get on board, you’ll probably find it opens their eyes to a whole new world!

Sources:

1. Suite101
2. eHow

Image Source: www.co.monmouth.nj.us

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

Q – My elderly mother lives in Bakersfield and I think she’s starting to struggle to manage in her home. I don’t think that she can keep up with the responsibility of maintaining a home, and I fear that she’s going to have an accident due to her declining mobility. I know she would hate to end up in a Bakersfield nursing home or assisted living facility, is there any way to keep her at home but get her some help?

A – There are professional in-home caregiving agencies throughout Bakersfield that would be perfect for your mom’s situation. While many people do believe that the only answer is to move a senior to nursing home or assisted living facility, seniors today do have options. Suggest hiring a caregiver to your mom to help her out with the tasks she struggles with, so that she’s not overextending herself to the point than an accident might occur. This may feel like a loss of independence itself, but when seniors can maintain their lifestyle, many are more receptive to in-home caregiving than the other options available. Contact an agency and try it out, nothing is forever, so if she’s not satisfied with the help she’s receiving, there’s no obligation to continue with it!

Sources:

1. Senior Journal

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

After a senior has suffered from a medical emergency or accident, the last thing they need to worry about when returning home from a hospital or rehabilitation center is to worry about how they’re going to manage to take care of themselves and their Bakersfield home. After retuning home from the hospital, Bakersfield seniors need to focus on their recovery, regaining their strength and health so they can get on with their lives; however, this is a process that just cannot be rushed as much as they might want it to be. In order to help seniors with the transition from hospital or rehab to home, Home Instead Senior Care in-home caregivers can ensure that all seniors need to focus on is getting better and that they don’t take on any unnecessary burdens that might compromise their recovery.

Bringing a caregiver into a senior’s home can help them through the recovery process; Home Instead Senior Care’s caregivers can help seniors with dressing and bathing, getting in and out of bed, and can even help them to complete any assigned physiotherapy exercises. Having a caregiver help a senior around the house, also ensures that they don’t need to worry about maintaining their home, since caregivers can take care of those tasks; from light-housekeeping, to laundry, cooking and errand running.

Hire a home caregiver for your aging loved one when they leave the hospital, and know that all they need to worry about is their recovery.

Sources:

1. Caring.com

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

With many home care agencies, you never know who’s going to turn up on a Bakersfield senior’s doorstep each day of their scheduled care. But what this means is that seniors never have the opportunity to trust, bond and form a friendship with their senior caregivers. At Home Instead Senior Care, we know that the right caregiver is one that a senior can get to know, begin to trust with their home and their care, and someone who will become an important companion. Every day a senior has home care scheduled, we send the same caregiver to provide consistency and because through our process we ensure that the caregiver sent is one that meshes with the senior’s personal needs and personality.

When we send a new caregiver to a senior’s home for the first time, we complete an in-depth assessment to evaluate the needs of the senior and the type of caregiver who would be best suited for the role. However, just because a senior has been sent a caregiver, doesn’t mean that they’re stuck with them forever. If a senior or their family is not satisfied with the caregiver, we will be happy to send a replacement that better meets the request.

Once the right caregiver has been matched with a senior, you’ll never be able to separate them!

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

Image Source: portlandinhomecare.com

It’s been estimated that between 5%-10% of seniors in Bakersfield are victims of elder abuse, and many are suffering at the hands of their own senior caregivers; even sometimes, their own family members who care for them. Unfortunately, it’s also suspected that many seniors suffer in silence when it comes to abuse, so it is possible that many more seniors in Bakersfield and across the United States are living in fear. It’s this fear that stops seniors from talking about the abuse that’s victimizing them; however, fears that surround reporting elder abuse can occur for a number of reasons, and they aren’t all the reasons you’d suspect.

• Seniors fear loss of support from a child or family member that assists them with financial affairs, and helps to provide them with the tools they need to live with some independence at home

• Seniors may fear they appear ungrateful if they complain about the behaviors of a caregiver who takes advantage of them

• Seniors may fear a loss of options, or a loss of lifestyle if they complain about a caregiver

• Seniors may fear that complaining about a caregiver may result in a change of residence, like a move to an assisted living facility or nursing home

Sources:

Planning for Eldercare

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

While it may seem to some Bakersfield seniors that fighting stress is a losing battle, you might be surprised to learn that simple stress relief methods require seniors to do no more than make friends and be their usual personable selves with friends and family alike. By forming a trustworthy and reliable support network of the important people in their lives, seniors gain a sense of belonging, have an increased sense of self-worth, and develop feelings of security which can help fend off feelings of stress.

It can take some effort for Bakersfield seniors to form and maintain their support network, but through these activities as well seniors fight stress by staying connected and preventing feelings of loneliness. When forming a support network, seniors shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to new people who they would like to befriend, but at the same time, shouldn’t waste their time with people who add more, unnecessary stress to their lives. Once they have a trusted network of people, seniors should stay in touch with friends and family on a regular basis by phone, email or snail mail, which includes returning messages from others who are reaching out. In order for friends and family to be there for seniors in times of stress, they need to offer the same support in reciprocation, which includes taking the time to listen, being happy for friends accomplishments, and showing loved ones how much they are appreciated.

Sources:

1. Mayo Clinic
2. The American Institute of Stress

www.sccgov.org

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

As my mom in Bakersfield struggles with the loss of her financial stability, due to rising interest rates resulting from the financial crisis; she has also come face to face with another very scary reality. While she might find the strength and the resources to overcome the economic recession, we might not be able to say the same for her health. As the economy continues to go down the toilet, the weight on my mother’s shoulders is rapidly increasing and taking a direct toll on her health. My once vibrant and full of life mother has found that not only is this financial crisis costing her money; but it could also cost her, her life. With her weakened immune system and history of cardiovascular problems, my mother is at risk for more than just depression and anxiety; she could also face a heart attack, stroke, hypertension, or the onset of another potentially fatal disease.

But I don’t believe that it’s too late; I won’t let my mother just lay down and die as a result of this economic recession. Through diet, exercise, and encouragement in activities she once enjoyed, I’m trying to get my mother to take back her life in Walnut Creek and her health; even if she’s not able to take control over the affect the economy is having on her financial stability.

Sources:

1. The American Institute of Stress

2. The Mayo Clinic

Image: pro.corbis.com

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

Q – Does age have a bearing on the effects of stress?

A – While everyone faces stress in their lives, Bakersfield seniors worry too, and it hits them the hardest. For seniors, inadequately managing stress can mean more than just worry or anxiety, it can to a direct toll upon their overall health which has the potential to be fatal.

Worrying, is not an uncommon thing for Bakersfield seniors, with so much changing in their lives, seniors are forced to cope with uncertainty or a regular basis. For seniors, worrying about their health or that of someone close to them can be an everyday occurrence. For many seniors, another source of stress revolves around finances; they worry about how they’ll pay their bills, if they’ll be able to finance unexpected medical situations. Other seniors in Bakersfield worry about their health, which in turn results in even more health problems.

Effects of Senior Stress

• Anxiety and depression

• Cardiovascular problems such as hypertension, heart attack and stroke

• Gastrointestinal problems

• Loss of appetite

• Headaches

• Insomnia

Psychological Effects of Chronic Worrying

• Feelings of helpless

• Difficulties with decision making

• Difficulties concentrating on everyday tasks

• Panic attacks

Sources:

1. SeniorJournal.com

2. Associated Content

3. The American Institute of Stress

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.

We asked our readers in Bakersfield to share their worst doctor’s experiences when bringing their senior care recipient in for a medical consultation, and discovered that many caregivers have gripes about the doctor’s inability to speak to them in a language they understand. To help decipher medspeak, there are a few great online resources like The Medical Library Association and MedicineNet which define common and atypical medical terms in a way that’s easy to understand. To help take control of your senior’s medical care and understand the health information presented by a doctor, consult the above resources; but for now, enjoy one of our reader’s humorous horror stories about a visit to her mother’s doctor and a breakdown in communication.

Last year, I escorted my elderly mother to her family physician to have a rash looked at. During our first visit, the doctor was uncertain of the source of the rash; but by the second visit, she began to refer to it as “static”. Until we returned to the office the next time, we thought the doctor was blaming my mom’s rash on static, it turns out she was trying to refer to the fact that the condition of the rash had not changed. Meanwhile, I was trying to find a fabric softener that would reduce the static in my mom’s clothing!

Julie, 53

Sources:
1. Medical Library Association
2. MedicineNet

Home Care Bakersfield provides home care for the elderly, aging, and seniors in Bakersfield, Delano, Wasco, Lamont, Tehachapi, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, Taft, Shafter, Bodfish, Wofford Heights, Rosedale, Oildale, Kernville area. Call us today at 661-321-3235.