Finding Ways To Deal With Caregiver Stress

By Kelly Wood

Caregiver stress is becoming a major issue in our modern world. With people living longer, there is an even greater need for people to care for those who cannot take care of themselves. Those caregivers are in danger of having their own mental, physical, and emotional issues.

A caregiver is one who gives help to a person that is unable on their own to take care of regular daily tasks. The majority are not paid, and they are often related to the person to whom they give care. A conservative estimate is that at least forty-five million people have this role today. That number will only increase in the years ahead. The most common occurrence is of a person taking care of an aged relative. However, there are many instances of parents taking care of their disabled child.

It is believed that at some point in almost all of our lives, we will face this responsibility. At the present time, a large majority are women. Many of these have an outside job as well as their job as caregiver. Those who have an outside job must often make adjustments to their work schedules to accommodate the needs of their loved one. Some have to resort to taking unpaid leave to help alleviate some of their stress.

This responsibility is the cause of a much strain for the caregivers. Feelings of anger, frustration, and guilt are quite common. Their social life is often impacted in a negative way. Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed are also quite common.

One negative outcome is that those who take care of others for an extended period of time are likely to eventually suffer serious medical issues of their own. They are much more likely to suffer problems like depression and heart disease. When they do become ill, they seem to take longer to recuperate.

There are some solutions to this stress factor. If needed, talk to a counselor or a psychologist. Also talk to your own medical doctor. Some places offer training classes on how to be an effective caregiver for particular things like dementia. Be willing to take help when it is offered by others. Do not feel like you have to do everything. Set priorities of things that must be done, and do not worry about all the little things. If possible, talk to other family members to see if they can give you some help. Also, take some time for just yourself. Do not break off all your social ties. You need outside stimulation to help keep yourself healthy.

Even though the stress can be high for this responsibility, you can also reap many positive rewards. Many feel like they are giving back and that they are truly needed. Some even report gaining a better and stronger relationship for the loved one.

Unfortunately, caregiver stress is a reality for many people today. However, there are many organizations that have resources available to help you. Talk to someone at your local Area Agency on Aging. Consider options like respite or adult day care to help you manage your time better.

About the Author:

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The Best Solutions Of Water Crisis

By Josephine T. Ackerman

California is one of the most heavily populated regions in the United States, and requires a tremendous amount of water. Unfortunately, most of California is arid, with little in the way of local water resources. Los Angeles and the farms of the Inland Empire are sustained with water that is imported, whether it is from distant snow packs or the Colorado River. Unfortunately, the California water crisis has demonstrated that the demand for clean water is rapidly out pacing available supplies.

You see, for about five years I took Google news alerts for; "Water Crisis." And yes, every day there was new information about a drought, contaminated water, polluted water, and natural disasters causing havoc with our precious H2O. In fact, not a day went by for over five years that I didn't learn of some place on the planet that was exhausting their freshwater resources, having trouble getting water from their wells, if they hadn't gone completely dry.

Before retirement, I was in the car wash business, and obviously water is quite important for work, and as cities hit Level II Droughts, generally the local municipalities, or county governments make car washes them severely ration the amount of water they get, and at Level III Drought, they are most often required to shut down. Imagine having your business shut down because there was no water, and you needed it to clean the cars? Indeed, that would be considered business disaster 101 crisis mode.

People Lacking Water More than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people 3900 children die every day from water borne diseases. One must know that these figures represent only people with very poor conditions. In reality, these figures should be much higher. As the resource is becoming scarce, tensions among different users may intensify, both at the national and international level. Over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries. In the absence of strong institutions and agreements, changes within a basin can lead to trans-boundary tensions. When major projects proceed without regional collaboration, they can become a point of conflicts, heightening regional instability. The Parana La Plata, the Aral Sea, the Jordan and the Danube may serve as examples. Due to the pressure on the Aral Sea, a good proportion of the water has disappeared

Smart Water Use and Beating the Crisis With the inability to increase supply, California must reduce its demand, especially in the face of a growing urban and rural population. The most effective way this can be achieved is by the use of various water conservation strategies in order to meet the California water crisis head-on.

Water Crisis Facts 43% of water-related deaths are due to diarrhea. 84% of water-related deaths are in children ages 0 - 14. 98% of water-related deaths occur in the developing world. 884 million people, lack access to safe water supplies, approximately one in eight people. The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.

Creating a Sustainable Water Use Policy By avoiding the overuse of water, Californians can beat the California water crisis and ensure that the state retains sufficient reserves for its current and future needs. Creating a sustainable strategy for water usage and securing the state's future is a mission that requires the assistance of every California citizen.

About the Author:

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