{"id":10164,"date":"2018-03-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeline.philips.com\/resources\/blog\/2015\/03\/why-i-do-it-where-i-found-caregiver-support.html"},"modified":"2023-12-07T14:34:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T18:34:54","slug":"why-i-do-it-where-i-found-caregiver-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/why-i-do-it-where-i-found-caregiver-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Do It: Where I Found Caregiver Support"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today\u2019s caregivers can tap into a network of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/when-caring-takes-its-toll-finding-caregiver-support\/\">caregiver support resources<\/a> to help them handle stress. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/social-media-for-seniors\/\">social media<\/a> to blogs that feature current and former caregivers, there\u2019s a wealth of options to choose from \u2014 there\u2019s even a host of\u00a0caregiver books\u00a0and memoirs. But in the early \u201990s, when I was just starting out in my first role as a caregiver, there was no Internet to consult for support in times of stress. For me, caregiver support at its finest was sneaking away with friends and laughing myself silly.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a caregiver, you\u2019re stressed, and you might be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/caregiver-burnout\/\">looking for help<\/a>. Let\u2019s take a closer look at stress, how I handled it, and how you can do the same.<\/p>\n<h2>The Effects of Stress<\/h2>\n<p>As a caregiver, you know you\u2019re under\u00a0<a href=\"\/caregivers-4-ways-to-combat-stress-before-it-takes-over\/\">stress<\/a>, but you may not understand how it affects your body. Think of constant stress as your body existing in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight mode in which it creates an endless supply of adrenaline and a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is \u201cpublic health enemy number one,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/the-athletes-way\/201301\/cortisol-why-the-stress-hormone-is-public-enemy-no-1\">explains<\/a>\u00a0an article in\u00a0<i>Psychology Today<\/i>. \u201cChronic stress and elevated cortisol levels also increase risk for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/healthy-aging-recognizing-the-signs-and-symptoms-of-depression\/\">depression<\/a>, mental illness, and lower life expectancy,\u201d the article states. Elevated cortisol levels can also cause learning and memory problems, weight gain, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/what-are-high-blood-pressure-symptoms\/\">high blood pressure<\/a>, and lower immune function.<\/p>\n<h2>The Usual Cautions Apply<\/h2>\n<p>Now that you know what stress is, you have to learn how to combat it. You\u2019ve probably been told to eat a healthy diet, exercise, and get enough sleep to counteract caregiver stress. But what if you already do those things and you feel stressed? Caregiving has its rewards, but it\u2019s no walk in the park \u2014 especially when you\u2019re trying to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/caring-for-a-parent-while-succeeding-at-work\/\">juggle work<\/a>, kids, spouse, family, and all the things you need to accomplish in your daily life. I relied on the these two invaluable resources to keep my head above water:<\/p>\n<h3>1. The Importance of Human Connection<\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s more to stress relief than the many resources that the Internet has to offer. The\u00a0Mayo Clinic\u00a0says, \u201cA strong social support network can be critical to help you through the stress of tough times.\u201d I relied on my network of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/how-to-make-new-friends-as-you-grow-older\/\">friends<\/a> for support when I was a caregiver. It didn\u2019t matter what we did together, it only mattered that we were together, laughing and enjoying life.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Laughter<\/h3>\n<p>Clich\u00e9 though it may seem, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/why-laughter-is-the-best-medicine\/\">laughter<\/a>\u00a0<i>really<\/i>\u00a0is the best medicine: Around 10 years ago, I interviewed a priest\u2019s wife for a magazine article. She was a truly amazing woman who had survived cancer and a life-threatening heart condition. In each instance, her doctors had told her that she wouldn\u2019t survive. This senior took matters into her own hands. She prescribed laughter for herself, and she lived to spread the gospel of laughter after each illness. I have the same philosophy: Laughter can cure much of what ails us. And she gave me the permission I needed to laugh when others might think it more appropriate to express sadness.<\/p>\n<p>For me, the total of friends plus laughter was far greater than the sum of its parts, helping me to handle the challenges that caregiving presented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today\u2019s caregivers can tap into a network of caregiver support resources to help them handle stress. From social media to blogs that feature current and former caregivers, there\u2019s a wealth of options to choose from \u2014 there\u2019s even a host of\u00a0caregiver books\u00a0and memoirs. But in the early \u201990s, when I was just starting out in<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/why-i-do-it-where-i-found-caregiver-support\/\"> Read more >><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caregiving"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why I Do It: Where I Found Caregiver Support | Lifeline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn the effects of caregiver stress and how you can tap into a network of resources to help. 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