Video Transcript
[0:00] Welcome to Caregiver SOS by Bay Alarm Medical. My name is Haley Burress. I’m a caregiving expert here to talk about the ugly side of caregiving that no one talks about — the most frustrating and challenging parts of caring for an aging family member, and how to get through it.
[0:26] Caregivers don’t always feel appreciated. Let’s talk about it, starting with our question: “I am the primary caregiver for my mom. I don’t have a lot of family nearby, and they do try to be supportive. But when it comes down to it, I’m the one who is here with her day in and day out. I feel invisible and underappreciated by everyone — my family, my friends, my mom, her doctors, everyone.”
[0:55] Family caregivers are performing so much invisible labor — they’re meal planning and prepping, making phone calls to the insurance company, scheduling transportation and medication refills, comforting their loved one during scary medical appointments, doing the laundry, tidying the house, and shopping for waterless shampoo because showers are too difficult to give more than a few times per week.
[1:08] Unless you’ve been a family caregiver, you really have no idea what it’s like. This is why I think we often feel so invisible. People just don’t know what we’re doing to keep our loved ones healthy, safe, and comfortable.
[1:30] My advice to you is to find something you love and pursue it outside of your caregiving role. Find a new hobby or pick up an old one. Become an expert on local history. Start hiking on the weekends. Become a voracious reader. Knit. Paint. Anything!
[1:39] When you pursue something that is outside of your role as a caregiver, parent, partner, and employee, you can start to feel like yourself again. You’ll feel less invisible.
[1:52] And for what it’s worth, I see you. I appreciate your work.
[2:10] Like and subscribe for more caregiving advice.
