Free Class for Caregivers: Coping with Stress

Stress affects us all from time to time, but caregivers absorb more stress than most. Adding to the strain of tending to a sick or elder loved one, many caregivers are also simultaneously juggling their own lives and careers.

According to the National Family Caregivers Association, each year more than 65 million people in the U.S. provide informal care for a chronically ill, disabled or elder family member or friend. Six out of 10 of those caregivers are also employed.

Mills-Peninsula’s Senior Focus in Burlingame is holding a free, two-part course in January and February to help informal caregivers take better care of themselves by addressing their own emotional, physical and spiritual needs.

“A big part of improving well-being is reining in the stress that comes with such a demanding role,” says Terry Reed, R.N., M.S., a board certified holistic nurse who will lead a guided mediation as part of the course.

“Guided imagery is a self-care tool that can help people release stressful thoughts and feelings,” Reed says. “It’s not just frivolous theory. Guided imagery is proven, evidence-based science.

“Stress releases adrenaline and cortisone, which elevate blood pressure and interfere with healing,” Reed says. “Endorphins, on the other hand, elicit feelings of relaxation and peace.”

Class participants will learn to replace stressful images with peaceful ones.

With each slow breath, you can relax and shift the body’s chemical response in as little as 30 seconds. “When people learn they can diffuse their stress it gives them a sense of control. They are not at the mercy of everything,” Reed says.

What About Me? Self Care for the Caregiver

When: Part 1: Jan. 25 and Part 2: Feb. 1

From 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., both days

Where: Senior Focus, 1720 El Camino Real, Suite 10, Burlingame

Free. Call 650-696-3660 to register.