Caregivers Are People Too
A Primer for Those Who Take Care of Disabled Persons
by
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Getting started on a journey is very different for different people. Some move slowly and carefully in an organized fashion, planning each step, researching stops, creating timetables, learning about all the attractions, and attempting to avoid pitfalls. Thus, by the time they buy their ticket, they know exactly where they want to go, how long they want to stay, and when they will be ready to leave. Others are much more haphazard. They decide they want to go somewhere, pick a few places, get a smattering of advice from friends and neighbors, and go buy their ticket. They have only a vague notion of how long they will stay anywhere but are fairly sure of where they are going. Still others are impetuous, deciding to go on a trip next week, picking a destination and planning to take it day by day.
How does this relate to your care giving situation and what I term the Samaritan Syndrome? Well, whether you go on a trip to an exotic foreign country or embark on a journey of living, you behave in your own characteristic fashion. If the journey goes on long enough, you may even forget why you decided to take it or how it happened that you started in
The trip we are going to discuss is the journey you have chosen to take with another person. The other person is handicapped and faces multiple problems of living. He or she might be elderly, struggling with the infirmities of old age, or mentally retarded, or addicted to drugs or alcohol, or suffering from severe emotional problems, or afflicted with a physical disease that severely limits his or her ability to take care of him- or herself. You have chosen to share your life with this person who, in all probability, is related to you — a spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, or a significant other.
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About the Book
Caregivers Are People Too concerns the search for growth within the care giving situation. Most caregivers believe they are driven by duty and love. Perhaps so, but this book serves as a guide to finding the variety of hidden motives which determine and perpetuate a person''s care giving role. Most importantly, it stresses the concept that caring for another person need not mean self-sacrifice. It is possible, if one is open to introspection and the use of practical suggestions, to care for someone else and still enrich one''s own life.
To illustrate and clarify these ideas, this book is filled with relevant vignettes. They demonstrate that long term care giving usually results in social isolation of both the caregiver and the recipient, causing them to become circumscribed and centered on the disability. The resulting interdependence can severely impairs both parties social adaptation.
This book addresses not only the role of care giving, but also offers strategies for promoting a healthy care-giving dyad. It is called a primer, because it forms the basis for further development. It guides the caregiver toward intense self-examination. Knowing yourself is the key to further growth. The book also contains information about the ramifications of the various disabilities and practical suggestions for controlling troublesome symptoms. Knowing your partner is essential to finding ways to broaden his/her horizons.
Everyone, including caregivers, has the right to explore his/her own potential and look forward to fulfilling it. This guide is geared to investigating choices and finding ways to pursue one''s special ambitions. It is not so much an advice book, as it is a road map to help you reach your desired goals.
About the Author
Gloria Sprung is a retired social worker living in New York City. She continues to be involved in activities related to her profession. She recently participated in a research project as a group leader and volunteers to serve as a supervisor for social work students for various Social Work schools in the city. She has extensively witnessed care giving as a social worker, and has also lived the life of a caregiver for several years while caring for her stricken husband. Her social work experience has included work with alcoholics, hospitalized psychiatric patients and patients in after care. The last fifteen years of her career were focused on the frail elderly; advocating for them, as well as helping them find home-based services for their physical and/or mental illness. For several years she administered a program which provided care as court appointed guardians for elderly people unable to manage their own affairs. She has had former professional experience, as a primary school teacher (twelve years) and speech therapist (ten years). Each of these careers gave her a wealth of involvement with handicapped children. She has published articles in professional journals and often appeared as a guest speaker to both professional and lay groups. Her favorite avocations are reading and travel and her chief personal delight is sharing experiences with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Her little Westie is a constant companion and keeps her active in Central Park dog activities.