The majority of visitors to this blog don’t come in the front door. They bypass all of my content and go straight to the 5% or so that my wife Anna wrote. Her content receives more than half of all traffic.
Why?
She would say my writing is lousy. I think it’s because she writes from the perspective of a caregiver. Some of her posts have struck a chord with other caregivers, of which there are an awful lot, and gone viral. Well, mini-viral.
Looking after yourself as a caregiver is a big, often unacknowledged issue. Depending on the source, somewhere between 1/5 and 1/3 of caregivers for people with chronic illnesses have mild to severe depression. I have no doubt that the range is higher for the caregivers of mentally ill folk.
There is a good set of slides on Beliefnet written by Therese Borchard, called 12 Depression Busters for Caregivers . If you are caring for someone I recommend it as an easy, humorous and very helpful read.
Here is an excerpt from “Secure Your Own Oxygen Mask”:
It always goes back to the ten-second spiel you get right before your plane takes off. “In the event of an emergency, an oxygen mask will drop from the compartment above you. Please fasten your own mask before assisting others.” Or, on Southwest airlines, they say, “Now would be a good time to choose your favorite kid.”
Click to read more of 12 Depression Busters for Caregivers.
