Challenges of Caregiving

November is National Family Caregivers Month, a time to honor and focus on the needs of the 43.5 million caregivers among us. Who are the caregivers? Look around at your colleagues! In a recent benefit survey, 57% of employees surveyed self-identified as caregivers. A caregiver is an unpaid family member or other person who provides help with activities of daily living and medical tasks for seniors, children with disabilities or people with cancer, brain injuries, ALS, MS, Alzheimer’s Disease, and many other health conditions. The toll on caregivers can be high in terms of stress, fatigue, isolation, and depression. Without support, caregivers often suffer deterioration in physical, mental, and financial health. Support caregivers in your life by staying connected and listening. Plus, offer concrete help such as shoveling a walk, mowing a lawn or offering a ride. Find ways to break through their isolation and relieve their stress.

Here are caregiver-to-caregiver basic tips for maintaining good health:

• “Put your own lifejacket on first” by taking care of your own physical and mental health.
• Share your feelings. Find someone to talk to – a counselor, an online network, a support group, or a friend.
• Identify and tap into local support resources. Learn how to ask for help and accept it.
• Don’t neglect your own needs and interests. Take time off, even if only a few minutes a day.
• Learn how to say no. Pace yourself and set limits. Recognize signs of burnout and get help.
• Find healthy ways to deal with your stress: Yoga, meditation, reading, listening to music, or walking in nature.

Get support and ideas from the Family Caregiver Alliance, Caring.com and explore your state’s Caregiver Services. You can also log in to www.theEAP.com and click on the Connections/Work-Life tile for Caregiver Resources. Plus, you can call to speak with counselors, who can help with finding local support resources.

Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving in the air, we offer a few thoughts on gratitude and thankfulness:

• “When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree.” – Vietnamese Proverb
  
• “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
  – William Arthur Ward
  
• “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
  
• “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”
  – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  
• “The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.” 
  – John E. Southard

Diabetes Prevention

November is American Diabetes Month. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of US death, but most people first have prediabetes. Do you? Over a third of US adults have prediabetes but don’t know it. Prediabetes can be prevented or reversed with proven lifestyle changes, such as weight control, healthy diets, and regular physical activity. To learn if you’re at risk, take this quick prediabetes risk test. Learn more in our blog post: Prevent prediabetes – learn your risk.

Sharpen your Work Skills!

Looking to advance your career? Explore thousands of free E-Learning trainings to grow your work skills. Here’s a sampling, but you can search for more by clicking on “Member Login” at www.theEAP.com. When signed in, click on the comprehensive training library in the “Training Center.”  

• NEW! Leadership Fundamentals | Course ID: SVL_1022128
  Learn the essentials of becoming a great leader in a 17-minute interactive course, covering basic tips for being a leader, the difference between leadership and management, and a few common leadership styles.
• NEW! Basic Computer Skills | Course ID: SVL_1022149
  This 22-minute video includes 4 lessons: introducing computer input and output devices, the basics of operating systems, network connections, and how to use internet browsers.
• Communicating Through Body Language At Work | Course ID: SVL_102152
  This 7-minute course will help you understand nonverbal communication, how to read nonverbal cues from others, and better control your own body language.

Learn More!

How to Scan a QR Code

1. Open the camera app.
2. Select the rear-facing camera in Photo mode.
3. Center the QR code you want to scan on the screen
     and hold your phone steady for a couple of seconds.
4. Tap the notification that pops up to open the link.
     (You will need to be connected to the internet to do this.)