Dealing with the Blues
This session’s focus is how to deal with common depressive symptoms that caregivers often experience. We’ll discuss strategies how to manage mood more effectively, mainly by increasing everyday positive activities that have been proven to lift mood. Those you care for may also experience depressive symptoms. You’ll leave this session with different tips and strategies that can help you to help the person you are caring for.
Resources
These links are being provided for informational purposes only. The websites are maintained by their respective owners, and the Optimal Aging Center bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content of these external sites. Contact the external sites for answers to questions regarding their content.
Caregiving and Your Mood
Fact sheet by Family Caregiving Alliance. Excellent basic information about depression in caregiver.
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Fact Sheet: Emotional Side of Caregiving
Fact sheet by the Family Caregiving Alliance. Broader then the other recommended fact sheet, this fact sheet discusses multiple different emotions that make arise during caregiving, including depression. Strategies on coping are offered for the emotions covered.
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Article: Mental Well-being of Family Caregivers
An article by the Dana Foundation (a private philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing understanding about the brain) discussing the research and current knowledge on depression and anxiety in family caregivers.
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Article: The Surprising Benefits of Being a Caregiver
An article focused on the positive benefits of caregiving from the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement.
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Article: How to Cope with Caregiver Depression
Everyday Health’s Resilience Resource Center offers an article which discusses Caregiver depression and explores the author’s own experience.
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Article: Caring for the Alzheimer’s Disease Patient
An article from the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation explores the many of the issues families and caregivers may have when caring for someone with dementia. Many of the sections in this article offer practical options. It has a section on caregiver depression and a unique section on the five reactions of families adjusting to a diagnosis.
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Help Line: Alzheimer’s Association Help Line
The Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline (800.272.3900) is available around the clock, 365 days a year. Through this free service, specialists and master’s-level clinicians offer confidential support and information to people living with the disease, caregivers, families and the public.
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Help Line: Friendship Line
Institute on Aging’s 24-hour toll-free Friendship Line (800.971.0016) is the only accredited crisis line in the country for people aged 60 years and older, and adults living with disabilities.
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Help Line: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals (800.273.8255). Veteran can select option 1 to speak with caring, qualified responders with the Department of Veterans Affairs, many of them Veterans themselves.
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Positive Activities
Article: Behavioral Activation Targets Depression
This article in Today’s Geriatric Medicine reviews basic information regarding behavioral activation and its effects on depression.
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Article: Participating in Activities You Enjoy
This article from the National Institute on Aging focuses on the effects of positive activities in maintaining healthy aging.
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Article: How Pleasant Activities Scheduling Helps Reduce Depression
This excellent article reviews how it works, the research and examples illustrating the use of pleasant activities.
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Article: Depression and Anxiety: Exercise Eases Symptoms
Mayo Clinic’s article on exercise and its impact on depression.
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Article: The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise
An excellent article on effectiveness of exercise on mental health.
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Article: The Exercise Effect
An article focused on the benefits of exercise in the treatment of depression.
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Video: The Brain Changing Benefits of Exercise
An 13 minute TEDTalk by neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki talking about the benefits of exercise.
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Assessment: California Older Person’s Pleasant Events Schedule (COPPES)
If you are finding it difficult to find 10 activities, the COPPES is one method of discovering additional activities. Both the assessment and scoring instructions can be found at the following url, just scroll down.
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