Staying Healthy
Caregiving crisis
Supporting loved ones often takes an overlooked toll on caregivers' own health.
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
If a traditional caregiving scenario were captured on time-lapse video, Katherine Lyman contends that early scenes would depict an adult daughter accompanying her aging parent to a doctor's appointment looking "put together" and on top of things. Just a few years later, however, the daughter would appear drastically different — "really disheveled, because she isn't taking care of herself."
"I cannot tell you how many times I've leaned forward, looked the daughter in the eyes, and asked, 'How are you coping with all of this? What are you doing to let off steam? It's great that you're keeping all these plates spinning, but it comes at a cost,'" recounts Lyman, a geriatric nurse practitioner at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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