General Info – Page 12

August 27, 2012

Meditation Helpful to/for Caregivers

Meditation May Help Fight Loneliness, Study Says
Researchers also looked at its effect on stress and inflammation in older adults
FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) — A simple form of meditation can help stave off feelings of loneliness and may cut the body’s inflammatory response — which can trigger serious illness — to distressing emotions, a small new study suggests.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found that older adults who participated in an eight-week program of mindfulness-based stress reduction — which attunes the mind to the present and avoids dwelling on the past or projecting into the future — reported a reduced sense of loneliness on an established ratings scale. Blood tests also indicated a significant decrease in the expression of inflammation-related genes.

“I think meditation training can help [people] develop a new relationship to feelings of stress,” said study co-author J. David Creswell, director of the Health and Human Performance Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon. “It puts a brake on this process … and turns down the chronically stressed state people may be in, thereby turning down the pro-inflammatory cascade. I think it may be targeting the stress component of loneliness such that it doesn’t blow itself out of proportion.”

The study appeared online recently in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Previous research has linked feeling lonely to a heightened risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s, depression and premature death, and higher levels of inflammation in the body may play a role. The study authors said the new research was the first to show that a psychological intervention that decreases loneliness also cut pro-inflammatory gene expression.

Forty adults (mostly women) between the ages of 55 and 85 were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness meditation group or a control group that didn’t meditate. At the beginning and end of the two-month study, all participants were assessed for their feelings of loneliness and blood levels of gene expression for inflammation markers.

The meditation group participated in weekly two-hour group sessions, a daylong retreat later in the study and 30 minutes of daily home mindfulness practice. Group sessions consisted of an instructor leading participants in guided mindfulness meditation exercises, yoga and stretching, and discussions designed to foster awareness of participants’ moment-to-moment experiences.

The research provided additional clues as to how this form of meditation may affect the health of lonely older adults, the study authors said, although it did not assess whether the reduction in pro-inflammatory gene expression translated into meaningful differences on disease outcomes.

“It didn’t measure inflammation directly and didn’t really tell you whether their bodies are producing any more or less inflammation,” said Dr. Jeremy Koppel, a geriatric psychiatrist and research scientist at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. But, “the study is suggestive of a very interesting and novel approach to the problem of loneliness … and broadens the potential benefit to other diseases of late life.”

More information
Wanted to share this informattion with you. Remember, caregivers need care too.
Visit the U.S. National Center for Complementary

July 26, 2012

Caregivers and Overnighters?? What to do

This is a great article from aging.com. I think you will like it. Let me know what you are doing for yourself when you are staying overnight with a loved one. It is important for you to get the care you want and deserve.

If good self-care is tough for caregivers to manage, self-care during a loved one’s medical crisis can feel downright impossible. The vending machine meals. The nights spend upright in an uncomfortable chair. The worry.

Obviously the focus is on the person in need. But that doesn’t mean you have to ignore your own needs completely. Especially when a medical emergency or hospitalization is prolonged, you’ll feel better — and be more effective — if you can muster a few basic self-care “survival” strategies.

What helps:

Clean up in the bathroom. If you spend the night in the hospital, bring a towel and shampoo to the family bathroom in the mornings so you can clean up. Take a shower, if one is available. Even a quick refresher will recharge you for the new day.

Skip the sodas. Start your day with strong coffee, if you like, but switch to tea and water for the remainder of the day. Soda doesn’t do anything for you nutritionally and leaves you feeling bloated and sluggish.

Create alternate routines. Try taking the stairs or parking farther away. Walk around the hospital floor if you’re nervous about going far away. Take standing and stretching breaks while you’re sitting bedside.

Don’t try to do too much at once. Make one or two healthful change-ups a day: Stop to pick up some good food (even a ready-to-go meal from a grocery store) rather than fast food. Swap a vending machine snack for some fruit from home.

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Caregiving And Finances

I remember one of the dreaded, though much anticipated, calls from my Aunt Jennie, whom I had recently become Power of Attorney. Aunt Jennie was not able to continue paying her monthly bills. It was not a matter of finances. Her arthritis, in conjunction with Alzheimers no longer afforded her the quality of independence she was accustomed to.
I set up most of her utilities and monthly payments with direct deposit. This made it easier for both of us.
I entered this situation somewhat blindly– not being aware of her financial situation.
It’s important to know how much money is available? She was a retired nurse and received a pension from her deceased spouse. Where is the money coming from? Where is it going? There was no mortgage. Only the regular utilities. Living in the northeast, the winter utilities were more than summer and spring. The regular payments included telephone, no internet, insurances and cable. Of course there were the annual property taxes.
Growing up during the depression, Aunt Jennie saved for emergencies.
We were able to manage the finances with few problems until she was placed in a nursing care facility. Was the placement long-term? Would her home have to be sold? Did she have long-term care insurance? Was her burial in place? Was her will up-to-date?
As a caregiver, we are sometimes focusing on the health and well-being of our loved ones.
We must take the time to determine if the finances are in order and who is responsible when our loved one is no longer competent to make the financial decisions.
This is all a part of caring for the caregiver.
Let me hear your financial caregiving stories.
www.caregiversneedcaretoo.com

June 20, 2012

Three R’s for Caregivers

Reading, writing and arithmatic are important for caregivers. You read to your loved ones — checking their important documents, prescriptions and subscriptions. Perhaps they are not doing all their business on line. There is writing. The math comes into play with medicine dosages and their financial concerns.
Those are the reliable 3 R’s. However, there is a new group of R’s for caregivers. They are Reality, Risks and Results.
It generally takes some time for caregivers to realize the gravity full time care for a loved one. The day-to-day caring for mom or dad or a spouse can become overwhelming after a long period of time. How long is this new arrangement going to last? Who is there in a supporting role? Many caregivers become caregivers for 4 or more years. Depending on the health of our loved one, the caregiving may become progressive requiring more and more attention and time from the caregiver and their usual daily activities.
What risks are involved for the caregiver? Are you still working a full-time job and realizing that caregiving requires more and more of your time? Do you still have near-adult children at home or returning home from college? What happens to your personal relationships? Are you spending enough time with your spouse and your friends? Are you as a caregiver prepared for these and other risks? How about your health? Are you exercising, eating properly, getting adequate rest and taking “time outs”?
The third R is results. What are the results of your caregiving for your loved one? How much balance is in your life? How are you feeling about your new or not so new role as caregiver? Have you sought and reached out for support? Have you thought about what happens next?
If you would like more information on Caring for the Caregiver, send me a message. Caregivers give their best. They also deserve the best of care for themselves. Let me hear your thoughts.
www.caregiversneedcaretoo.om
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310 673 3349