A Caregiver Support Group are what many adult children who are caring for an aging parent want to find, and sometimes as the last resort.

Even though we don’t have the time, we want something to fix our problem.  RIGHT?  We feel in our heart that if we can just find a support group we will find the magic to help us cope with our elderly parents.  We’ve tried everything we can think of.  You may know of others who seem to have a sane mind while they are caring for their parents and you want it to.  Sanity that is!

We finally get to a caregiver support group and we find out that it isn’t magic…it’s a kind of spiritual common sense that we as caregivers need to buckle down and learn.  Learn how to deal with a parent who raised us and now we feel like we are raising our parent and this isn’t the way we thought it would turn out.

We start, like young children in elementary class.  We realize we are powerless over our new caregiving duties and that our lives have suddenly become unmanageable.  The second part is easy to admit that our lives have become unmanageable since taking on this comittment of caring for an aging person but the first part isn’t as easy to except.  We caregivers find it difficult, (INCLUDING ME – I might add) to surrender to the idea that we, THE COMPETENT ONE who has tried to cope with this new job and don’t really know how to handle it correctly.

We must learn that in order to get our sanity back we will have to learn and repeat over and over until it becomes a part of us which may be easy for some and really difficult for others to grab hold of.  We are powerless over our new caregiving duties and that our lives have suddenly become unmanageable.  Taken from One Day At A Time from Al-Anon, however, the same is true for caregivers.  A local caregiver support group will help you learn that you aren’t alone.  There are many others out there dealing with the very same issues.  You can all learn from each others experiences.

Whenever I’m feeling depressed and give in to my natural impulse and habits to take over  and try to force my mother to change, I’m in trouble again and IT DOESN’T work.  I know I can only make this process work between mom and I when I start having faith that God hasn’t forsaken me and that He loves both mom and I equally and to repeat the phrase over and over (and trust me, I struggle everyday just like you).

How To Find A Caregiver Support Group…

there are many caregiver support groups online,  if you are as busy as I am it’s almost impossible to physically attend one.  But if you do have the time to attend please call your local Alzheimer’s Association or also Hospice does have support groups and many nursing homes have support groups as well.

I pray to be released from my compulsion to control my situation.  I have so often proved I am unable to control the situation or my mother.  Let me think, know and feel my powerlessness; then I will at least learn how to let go and let God take over and love us both.

I wish you well ~

Go out and MAKE this the best day ever!