A National Family Caregivers Association survey found that 25 percent of caregivers reported feeling "out of control" or "emotional stress." Sixty-one percent said they had become more depressed after becoming a caregiver.
And 13 percent said they had formulated a suicide plan for themselves.
Clearly, caregivers need help too. That's where Alexis Abramson's "The Caregiver's Survival Handbook: How to Care for Your Aging Parent Without Losing Yourself" (Perigee, $14.95) comes in.
Abramson, a gerontology expert, has a broad definition of "caregiver." It ranges from someone who provides for a relative's every need to someone who cuts Grandma's lawn.
Among Abramson's topics: how to keep a sense of humor, the need to escape your duties occasionally, rolling with the punches and avoiding guilt. There's also a great chapter on fostering a parent's independence, covering vision and hearing problems, exercises to promote better balance, and ways to keep the mind active.
With one in four families now caring for an older family member, Abramson's book is an invaluable tool.
