


Why Is It So Difficult to Ask for and/or Accept Help as Caregivers?
Once in the throes of caregiving, it is easy to get lost in the mire of all the moving parts. It is a “job” that often requires a caregiver’s attention 24/7. Not all caregiving is created equally, nor the same; however, one thing we all have in common is that as...
The Common Threads of Caregiving
When I became a long and near distance caregiver in 1999 for the first time, to my knowledge there was nothing like the caregiver support group online that we now have thanks to The Caregiver Space! I never had the opportunity to participate in a support group,...
Wheelchair Blues
You’d think I’d have gotten used to it after four years, ten neurosurgical operations, drug-resistant infections and falls in the middle of the night, but it’s lifting up my husband’s wheelchair to put it into the car that I hate the most. The wheelchair’s handlebars...
The Most Courageous Self-Care Act: Learning to Say, “I Need Help”
Asking for help can be really hard and all too often when our first attempt isn’t successful, we give up right away. This article shares great advice on how to stop worrying about admitting you need help and give yourself permission to ask — and accept...
What Illness Taught Me About Caregiving
“Take care of yourself.” I’ve heard this advice more times than I can count and try to follow it. After being diagnosed with stage one endometrial (uterine) cancer and having a hysterectomy, I follow this advice religiously. For about three months I had been feeling...
Do’s and Don’ts for Hospitalization Support
My family has reached the “expert” level when it comes to handling major hospitalizations. Each time a crisis hits, I hear the well-meant refrain from kindhearted folks who simply say, “Call me if there is anything I can do.” Face it. I am not...
Getting help: Is it really possible?
So many caregiving guides make it sound like there’s plenty of help to be had, if only caregivers would ask. We know that’s not quite how it works. Yes, some caregivers don’t ask for help and your chances of success improve if you ask the right way,...
One question that changes everything
The other day I was in an ER far from home. The woman in charge of triage was refusing to move forward with triage because we didn’t have insurance they’d accept. The fact that we had insurance and had even gotten pre-approval to go to the ER wasn’t...
How to ask for the help you need
So many caregivers find their requests for help are ignored. So many people say they’re willing to help, but then they never seem to be around when you need them. Why does this happen? People offer to help, so why don’t they? Click To Tweet Friends and...
Why some people won’t help
…and what you can do about it Yesterday, I read an excellent blog post titled “Asking for Help” on the Caregiver Space. The article is chock full of good ideas and practical advice. It was the comments that got me thinking, though. Many sounded...
List of three
If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done Fact: Caregivers need help. Fact: Many caregivers have trouble asking for help. Fact: When friends and family say, “Let me know if there’s anything I can...
Male caregivers: Asking for help
Why is it that men have such a hard time asking for directions when they’re lost?

Asking For Help
Why is it so hard to ask for help? Perhaps the management skills, fierce loyalty, and big heart that make us such great caregivers also make it difficult for us to ask for assistance.
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