Coping With Caregiver Burnout – Sarah’s Story

Lisa shares a narrative she wrote about a caregiver named Sarah who found herself in the position of being the primary caregiver for her mother, who was living with dementia. The story focuses on Sarah’s struggles and the challenges she faced taking care of her mom as she progressed through the disease to illustrate what most caregivers experience and what they can do to best cope with taking on the caregiver's responsibilities.  Some of the highlights of Sarah’s story include:   How she coped with managing her mother’s care and witnessing the gradual decline of her mom’s once vibrant spirit;   How she recognized the signs of caregiver burnout in herself;   How the emotional strain was so difficult for Sarah to bear, and what she did to turn that around;   The lessons she learned from her caregiving experience and how she learned to persevere and that is was possible, as a caregiver, to find real moments of joy with her mom, inspite of being fraught with all the unexpected challenges.  <br/>Join Lisa's Minding Dementia Support Group Facebook page. About the Host:Author Lisa Skinner is a behavioral specialist with expertise in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. In her 30+year career working with family members and caregivers, Lisa has taught them how to successfully navigate the many challenges that accompany this heartbreaking disease. Lisa is both a Certified Dementia Practitioner and is also a certified dementia care trainer through the Alzheimer’s Association. She also holds a degree in Human Behavior.Her latest book, “Truth, Lies & Alzheimer’s – Its Secret Faces” continues Lisa’s quest of working with dementia-related illnesses and teaching families and caregivers how to better understand the daunting challenges of brain disease. Her #1 Best-seller book “Not All Who Wander Need Be Lost,” was written at their urging. As someone who has had eight family members diagnosed with dementia, Lisa Skinner has found her calling in helping others through the struggle so they can have a better-quality relationship with their loved ones through education and through her workshops on counter-intuitive solutions and tools to help people effectively manage the symptoms of brain disease. Lisa Skinner has appeared on many national and regional media broadcasts. Lisa helps explain behaviors caused by dementia, encourages those who feel burdened, and gives practical advice for how to respond.So many people today are heavily impacted by Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. The Alzheimer's Association and the World Health Organization have projected that the number of people who will develop Alzheimer's disease by the year 2050 worldwide will triple if a treatment or cure is not found. Society is not prepared to care for the projected increase of people who will develop this devastating disease. In her 30 years of working with family members and caregivers who suffer from dementia, Lisa has recognized how little people really understand the complexities of what living with this disease is really like. For Lisa, it starts with knowledge, education, and training.Thanks for listening!Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!Subscribe to the podcastIf you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.Leave us an Apple Podcasts reviewRatings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valua