Books For The Caregiver

[Lainey]

When I was at the counsillor she suggested that I find some books pertaining to the grief that the caregiver carries. I know from reading posts that many of us were primary caregivers for a long period . I'm wondering if any of you have read any that were of help, and would you pass the titles on to me.

Thanks,

Lainey

[mfh]

I have some titles and will sort through them tomorrow night and send you some. I just came across this tonight while sorting papers. It is a chart from the Institute of Crisis Management in Higher Education. It is about the possible symptoms Caregivers can develop. It is called: Examples of Compassion Fatigue/Burnout Syndrome. (Figley, C) Any of us, who were caregivers for our loved one might have experienced any of these and might be recovering from them yet.

Cognitive: Lowered concentration, less self esteem, apathy, rigidity, disorientation, perfectionism, preoccupation with trauma, thoughts of self harm or harm to others.

Emotional: powerless, guilt, anger, rage, survivor guilt, shutdown numbness, fear, helplessness, sadness, depression, mood swings, depleted energy, increased sensitivity

Behavioral: impatient, withdrawn, moody, regression, sleep disturbances, nightmares, appetite change, hyper-vigilance, elevated startle response, accident prone, easily loses things

Spiritual: questions the meaning of life, loss of purpose, decreased self-appraisal, pervasive hopelessness, anger at God, questions religious beliefs, loss of faith in higher power, greater degree of skepticism

Personal Responsibilities: withdrawnal, decreased interest in intimacy and sex, mistrust, isolation from others, overprotective as parent or spouse, projective anger or blame, intolerance, loneliness, increase in interpersonal conflicts

Physical/Somatic: shock, sweating, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, breathing difficulties, joint and muscle aches, dizziness and disorientation, increase in number and severity of medical concerns, impaired immune system, other

Work Performance: low morale, low motivation, ask avoidance, obsession about details, dichotomous thinking, apathy, negativity, lack of appreciation, detachment, poor work quality and communication, staff conflicts, absenteeism, exhaustion and irritability, withdrawal from colleagues

[MartyT]

You might also take a look at some of the resources listed on the Caregiving page of my Grief Healing website, Lainey.

[dave s]

wow Mary that is me! I went from caregiver to others, to caregiver to Mike.......and now back to caregiver to others, am realizing again I am in an unhealthy spot, and need to turn this into caretaker for Dave....have some homework to continue to work on....Dave