Episode 128 - CAREGIVING AND EMOTIONAL MATURITY

The Survivor's Guide to Life

We return to "Floating in the Deep End: How Caregivers Can See Beyond Alzheimer's", Patti Davis' memoir of caring for her father during the last stages of his life. Davis clearly and powerfully describes the emotional challenges she faced as a caregiver to recognize and deal with her old family-related pain and disappointment. To be compassionately present for her father as an adult daughter, she found it necessary to face her childhood fear of her mother and her anger over having felt shut out of her father's life. All caregivers face similar emotional challenges as part of their work. Denying old, negative emotions - or indulging in them - or covering them up by only "performing" the role - can lead to caregiver depression, burnout and illness, and poor quality of care for their loved one. Refusing to come to grips with ourselves and our emotional history is also a lost opportunity for healing and growth to emotional maturity