Home Care in Oakbrook, IL – 5 Common Myths of Caregiving

Just as with many other things, caregiving has its myths. Some of them may sound familiar to you while others may not. As a caregiver hearing these myths may help you see a wider view of things and hopefully help you to feel less stress and guilt. You spend a lot of time and energy caring for others; we care about you and want to make sure you’re receiving the help and advice you need.

1. My mom raised me and my 4 siblings with little outside help. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to care for her by myself! The two situations are not even closely related! Caring for 5 growing children whose abilities increase daily and are able to help out the family is much different from caring for a frail aging adult with illnesses and declining abilities. There may be a few similarities, but the impact of caregiving on your emotions and your physical state can wear down even the staunchest of people. With caregiving, you will discover that you need to find help and support.
2. All the friends and family members you have given help to in the past will now jump in and offer you help willingly. Guess again. Friends will scatter when you start spending time with your elderly father or grandfather who has dementia. The number of people who disappear from your life when they see the stress of caregiving can be disheartening.
3. Nobody else’s caregiving experience is anything like yours; no one else will ever understand what you’re going through. Whatever you’ve seen your grandfather do, it’s done before. Whatever swear words come out of your grandmother’s mouth, it’s been said before. Professionals at in-home care services have dealt with all of it before. When you seek help from an expert caregiver, they have had experience that covers all of these bizarre behaviors and stressful circumstances.
4. It will be easy to get a diagnosis and treatment for my parent’s ailments. Sometimes, a good doctor can move swiftly to the correct diagnosis and have your parent on a treatment plan that works. Trust your gut instincts. Sometimes you feel like you’re being shuffled from one doctor to another and nothing is being done. Advocate for your elderly loved one.
5. All your family members should understand how difficult caregiving is and run to your aid. Not everyone will have the soft heart and kind demeanor you do in jumping in to provide care. They may feel uncomfortable or they may not know what to do or what kind of help to offer. Talk to them. Let them know what kind of help you need and give them choices.