It's National Caregivers Month

Early November is when we turn our clocks back from the daylight savings time. Quite literally, there is a darkness that descends upon us each and every day. For most, there is also a slight or dramatic mood change that comes with the time change – perhaps a melancholia, foreboding, sense of isolation, and, well, darkness. Do you experience this? I certainly do. November is also National Caregivers Month as well as Palliative Care and Hospice Month. Fitting, since that sense of melancholia, foreboding, isolation and perhaps some darkness are notions that family caregivers live with all year round. They just manage to also sustain resilience, tenderness, patience and love. This is tough time of year for family caregivers. The sundowner effect (aka Sundowner’s Syndrome) is very real and can adversely impact their care recipients. I remember this time of year in the last few months of Bob’s life; he became very sad and often spiked a fever in the long nights of late Autumn early Winter.

I send my love and support to those who are currently caregiving. To you who are not, no doubt you know someone who is caregiving. Please send them a supportive text or card with no expectation of a response. Send more than one over the next few weeks. Offer to bring them a designer coffee or chocolate treat and leave it at their door, so they don’t feel obligated to visit. Let’s please not forget our family caregiver friends in this time of Thanksgiving.