I was looking through my photo album this week and it finally registered how much stress I had been under while caring for my husband at home.
These are actual photos of me before caregiving began (2010), during my twelve years of caregiving at home (2012-2022), and today, after placing my husband in a Memory Care unit almost two years ago (2022-2024).
As the saying goes, A picture is worth a thousand words. I had no idea what caregiving was doing to me. Thankfully, my kids intervened and finally convinced me to (1) see a therapist and (2) place my husband in memory care. They could see the stress I was in and the toll it was taking on my own health, even if I couldn't. I will always be grateful to them for the intervention.
If you know someone going through caregiving stress, please be their intervention. They will thank you later.
Additional reading on the topic of caregiver stress:
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCindy. This is a much needed subject. And you're right. A picture is a 1000 words, so glad to see you've come through and are sharing with others. Who need that encouragement?come through this really exciting.
Cindy, Thank you for sharing your story about your grief as an Alzheimer's caregiver. Your story is so helpful to us who are going through the same thing. My story is so similar to yours, from the dates and amount of time I have been involved with caring for my husband since his diagnosis. The hardest for me is the guilt that I have for putting my husband in a nursing home.
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