Issue link: https://www.newlifestylesdigital.com/i/211860
Self Advocacy for Family Caregivers by Suzanne Geffen Mintz, President/Co-founder National Family Caregivers Association What does it mean to be a happy person when you are a family caregiver? How do you stand up for yourself, take care of yourself and find a balance between your own needs and those of your loved ones? These are heady questions, and ones that have been discussed often at the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) because they are at the core of our search for meaning and our need to have a code to live by as caregivers. The answers to these questions form NFCA's Principles of Caregiver Self Advocacy. I hope you will use them as guideposts, as you seek to come to terms with your life as a family caregiver. We caregivers often feel like victims, as if all choice has been taken away from us. We often ask: Why did my spouse/parent/child get sick, have an accident? Why did this happen to our family? Why did it happen to me? We so often feel out of control. Having a sense of control, or choice, is a relative thing and depends as much on your attitude as it does on your circumstances. You may not be able to control the course of a disease or the effects of an injury, but you can control how you live with it. You can let it take over your life, or you can let your life progress and incorporate your loved one's disability into it. You may not have all of the choices you once did, or you may have to make choices now that you don't like, but if you recognize that you do have the power to choose, you won't feel quite as much like a victim any more. CHOOSE TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE is the first of NFCA's Principles of Caregiver Self Advocacy. The second principle is HONOR, VALUE AND LOVE YOURSELF. If you are like most caregivers, you are probably worn out and are questioning yourself all the time. You owe it to yourself to take very good care of yourself, to love yourself. Are you familiar with the safety message that airline flight attendants 92