Spotlight on Caregivers

Millions of family caregivers often struggle to care for themselves while caring for those they love.  PBS seeks to reduce this loneliness and isolation by examining this subject in a new Caregiving documentary, produced by Bradley Cooper and part of an extensive awareness-building campaign called Well Beings. 

As the film explains, “Caregiving is the foundational issue for contemporary American society.”  In my 30 years as a caregiver, parent, and advocate, I have yet to see a better crash course on the impact and importance of caregiving in the U.S. 

Now more than ever, it’s vital for friends, neighbors, and voters to understand the needs of both paid professionals and unpaid family caregivers and why government support is so essential for both.  This film provides an unprecedented, raw, and honest look at what families experience.

Our need for childcare, care for the disabled, and care for caregivers has evolved over time. This breathtaking new film examines how times have changed and why our attitudes towards caregiving must also. It really is “must see TV” and one more reason to support public broadcasting.

Check your local PBS station website for more info, or use this link to watch the film online. Witness, learn, and perhaps even feel a bit more understood. Broaden your perspective and advocate to improve policies that support caregivers at work and home.You won't regret it.

Loneliness

Sadly, loneliness impacts more than just caregivers. Here's an interesting article about the effects of loneliness on our children with intellectual and developmental disability.  Preventing and reducing this in our communities isn’t hard, but it requires collaboration and inclusion. The article offers easy tips for injecting both into your ongoing interactions.

This magazine from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration offers more simple steps to create communities of belonging.  

Happiness

Perhaps because of all the ugliness and uncertainty in today’s world, the concept of happiness is being researched and reported on more than ever before.  The 12-minute-video below offers interesting and inspiring perspective on how happy people create happy lives, no matter what challenges they face.  And how they manage the energy they need to do so. (It’s part of resilience, remember?).  If you’re interested in learning more after watching, you can dig deeper at your own pace in a free online course through Harvard University which starts this week. 

“Don’t worry, be happy,” sounds trite these days…but there are things we can do to help ourselves and each other. Happily.