Caregiving Essay

As adults get older, their need for assistance increases. Some families take it upon themselves to take care of their loved ones and others seek out for professional help. Caregiving for loved ones can become very mentally and physically draining. Some people underestimate the challenges they will face while caring for their loved ones. Before taking on the responsibility of caring for a loved one, consider all the components involved in caretaking. It is very important for us as a group to stress the importance of caring for a loved one with dignity and compassion as well as participating in self care for yourself. Some key points that caregivers need to think about before and during caregiving are: who qualifies as a caregiver, the obstacles they may face, abuse towards seniors, how to balance self-care for themselves, services that caretakers can access, and lastly the impact of mental and physical caregiving. These are all key points that should be

Sadly, elder abuse is common when discussing the negative impacts that family caregiving might have on a senior. This often comes in the form of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or financial abuse. All of these forms of abuse take advantage of the elderly; this is due to them being incapacitated or too weak and embarrassed to make it stop. In terms of family caregiving, neglect is the largest breach of trust. Neglect is defined as a failure to protect an elder from harm (Violence Preventation). Although caregiving is no simple job, giving the elderly the care they need is what the job entails. Often times those that are abused are most likely women. The most often abused also tend to have memory issues or are considered disabled in some way. Frail seniors that are very dependent on others to assist with daily life activities are some of the most common to become