Celebrated every November, National Family Caregivers Month (NFCM) is a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country. It offers an opportunity to raise awareness of caregiving issues, educate communities, and increase support for caregivers.

Led by Caregiver Action Network (CAN), a nonprofit that provides free education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers, the 2022 theme, #CaregivingHappens, acknowledges the reality that family caregiving is not always convenient or expected.

If you are a caregiver, what can you do to make sure you are taking care of yourself?

1. Seek support from other caregivers. You are not alone!
2. Take care of your own health so that you can be strong enough to take care of your loved one.
3. Accept offers of help and suggest specific things people can do to help you.
4. Learn how to communicate effectively with doctors.
5. Caregiving is hard work, so take respite breaks often.
6. Watch out for signs of depression and don’t delay getting professional help when you need it.
7. Be open to new technologies that can help you care for your loved one.
8. Organize medical information so it’s up to date and easy to find.
9. Make sure legal documents are in order.
10. Give yourself credit for doing the best you can in one of the toughest jobs there is!

Caregiving in Black and Brown families has unique challenges. If you are minority caregiver, and specifically providing caregiving for dementia related illness patients, we would love to hear from you to take part in an upcoming program from a local nonprofit, My Natural Me to assist minority caregivers of dementia/Alzheimer’s patients.

Email info@lilettaharlem.com