Impact of Aging Members in The Family

Impact of Aging Members in the Family
Prepared by:
MARIA DORINA AGUIRRE, RN, MAN
In Home: CAREGIVERS
Caring for a loved one.... is a

hard work.
Impact of Aging Members in the family
• When you live with your aging parents or assume a high

amount of daily care for them, you experience a change
in your family roles. ... This shift can cause guilt and
stress, as family members work to find a place in the new
family dynamic, but it can also result in more open
communication among family members.
• Whether you and your parents live together or thousands

of miles apart, you might find yourself increasingly
responsible for their day-to-day care.
cont.
• As you and your family
• Caring for aging parents make plans and you reflect
has multiple impacts on on your future as a
your family life, including:
caregiver, take time to
• Emotional appreciate the strength
• Financial you derive from working
• Structural together and the unique
• Physical bonds you share as family
• Positive
Emotional Effects
• Caring for your aging parents prompts a range of impulses
and emotions.
• Thomas and Segur, co-owners and directors of Hearts and
Hands Counseling, say that common responses include;
"Guilt for not being able to do more for parents;
Anger for having to set aside your own needs or shift your
priorities;
Fear and anxiety, including anticipatory grief and fear of
financial strain."
cont.
• Thomas and Segur also identify positive emotional effects
of caring for aging parents, such as
• "enrichment that comes with relationships between
grandparents and grandchildren;
• increased opportunity to pass on stories and knowledge
to younger generations;
• younger generations having a sense of being able to
give back to parents and grandparents," resulting in a
"greater connection" between family members.
Financial Effects
• Caring for aging parents often means extra costs related to
home health care, medical expenses not covered by
insurance and extra insurance premiums for services such as
long-term care.
• You also may need to take off extra time from work.
• Healthcare Finance News reports the results of The MetLife
Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers, stating that
individuals who care for elderly parents will lose an average
of $280,00 to $325,000 in wages, retirement benefits and
Social Security benefits.
cont.
• Thomas and Segur say that some families explore

options for financial support that can make family life
more enjoyable, emphasizing that "there is no shame in
utilizing what support is out there.
• " Healthcare Finance News echoes this sentiment, adding
that there are many employer resources and programs to
ease financial stress and improve productivity in the
workplace in such situations.
Structural Effects
• Living with aging parents or assume a high amount of daily

care for them, you experience a change in your family roles.
• Thomas and Segur describe this as a;
"shift in family structure and hierarchy related to matriarch
or patriarch no longer being in their role." When this
occurs, "someone new to take their place."
• This shift can cause guilt and stress, as family members
work to find a place in the new family dynamic, but it can
also result in more open communication among family
members.
Physical Effects
• Prioritizing parents' care can ease their pain and worry,

but might impact your health.
• The Family Caregiver site summarizes some of the
physical effects of caregiving for aging parents.
• The time and effort of keeping up with parents' care
means you may visit your doctors less, resulting in
undiagnosed problems or conditions getting worse.
Caregiving for a parent with dementia can cause
chronic stress and illness.
cont.
• Time pressure might result in caregivers and their children
skipping exercise and eating more convenience foods, which
contribute to poor fitness and weight gain. Everything from mild
depression to severe and chronic depression can inflict
caregivers, which can cause premature aging and shorten their life
span.
• Families who share responsibilities and secure outside help
experience less stress and have the time and resources to
maintain their health and relationships with all members of the
family.
• MORE: When a Parent Says "No!"
Positive Effects
• In an article:
• "Caring for Elderly Parents:
• How to Feel Positive,"by Dr. Amy D’Aprix, life transition
consultant, observes that our thoughts frame our emotional
state.
• When you care for aging parents, you might feel as if you
are in a rut.
• This in turn affects your family life, creating an environment
of bitterness and resulting in more criticism and
complaining.
cont.
• However, some families have the opposite experience by
creating what she describes as a positive "wiring" in their
brains to produce more potentially positive outcomes.
• These people reflect on what makes them feel good for
caring for their aging parents.
• They consider what moments in their days make them
smile. They revel in the moments with loved ones that
increase their sense of self-worth and they end up creating
closer bonds with both the older and younger generations.

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Impact of Aging Members in the Family

Caring for a loved one.... is a

• When you live with your aging parents or assume a high

• Whether you and your parents live together or thousands

• Thomas and Segur say that some families explore

• Living with aging parents or assume a high amount of daily

• Prioritizing parents' care can ease their pain and worry,

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