November is National Family Caregivers and Alzheimer's Awareness Month

It's November and once again it's time to honor family caregivers. November is National Family Caregivers month. Fifty million caregivers nationwide provide billions in "free" caregiving services to their loved ones.

Two-thirds of family caregivers suffer from stress and depression and some caregivers may even die before their care recipients. If you're a family caregiver, it's important to take time for yourself although I realize it's easier said than done.

The theme for this year's National Family Caregivers Month focuses on family caregivers speaking up for their rights. According to the National Family Caregivers Association, this is an opportunity to advocate for stronger public policy addressing family caregiving issues and raise awareness about community programs that support family caregivers.

If you've never cared for a loved one, it's difficult to explain what family caregivers experience and/or feel. Emotions run high. Aside from that, the effects of being a caregiver don't "go away overnight" after caregiving ends. It takes time for a caregiver to recuperate from years of chronic stress.

I hope this article will serve as a reminder to our elected officials that we definitely need stronger public policies addressing family caregiver issues. Family caregivers need all the assistance they can get. The time is now. Let's do it.

November is also Alzheimer's Awareness month. Alzheimer's is a very debilitating illness that robs people of their memories, their dignity and eventually their lives. At this time, there isn't a cure. As the population ages, those with Alzheimer's will increase.

The 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's include-1) memory loss, 2) difficulty performing familiar tasks, 3) problems with language, 4) disorientation to time and place, 5) poor or decreased judgment, 6) problems with abstract thinking, 7) misplacing things, 8) changes in mood or behavior, 9) changes in personality, 10) loss of initiative. On the website there is also information about what's considered normal aging.

Alzheimer's disease costs more than $148 billion annually. It's time to speak up and out for those who can't.

For more information contact the Alzheimer's Association at
800-272-3900 or go to www.alz.org/CaliforniaSouthland.

Eden Rosen is a Burbank resident, an author, speaker, and advocate. She is a former family caregiver for her father who passed away from pneumonia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and Alzheimer's in 2001. Eden wrote three books titled A Daughter's Lament: The Trials and Tribulations of a Family Caregiver (Xlibris) to raise awareness of what it means to be a family caregiver to a parent with Alzheimer's.