Who is a caregiver? What do they do?
Caregivers are the individuals who give of body, mind and soul to care for the well being of others. There are professional caregivers such as doctors, nurses, clergy, physical therapists, etc.; and there are informal caregivers—usually family and friends who give brief or around-the-clock care to loved ones with:
• Emotional or mental problems
• Dilemmas associated with aging
• Developmental disabilities (physical, emotional or intellectual)
• Physical illness and related limitations.
Being a caregiver comes with many ups and downs, joys and sorrows. Every caregiver is unique. Every care receiver is unique. Every caregiver/care receiver relationship is unique as are the stresses and successes, joys and sorrows, anxious and serene moments in each relationship. What is not unique is the basic necessity of each caregiver to maintain self—body and soul.
Caregiving can be frustrating. We experience agony, frustration, and boredom along with compassion, joy and purpose. We undergo victories and defeats, and feel the limitations of our mortal bodies and the boundless yearnings of our unquenchable spirits.
For more about being a caregiver
If you are interested in learning more, please take a look at my book, Guide for Caregivers. Guide for Caregivers is designed to restore a new and right spirit in caregivers. Our goal is to restore balance to the spirit—to replace sadness with laughter, fear with hope, exhaustion with vitality, mourning with gratitude, emptiness with joy and burnout with a rekindled passion.