Anne finds that reading certain books help her manage how she feels.

Transcript

For me, I read a lot of—I don’t know what you’d call them—spiritual books, self help books, to help me with how I feel […], like dealing with myself and my emotions and how I react to things. That’s how I dealt with it. Because you get to points where none of it makes any sense anymore. That’s really frustrating, when nothing makes sense. When you can’t get any help from the medical people, when your families don’t support you. It’s a real eye opener in life. If you just go through a normal life and nothing happens, you don’t see this. But when this stuff happens, you see all the stuff. It’s a world you didn’t want to know about. And that’s one thing I remember saying, that I did never wanted to know this side of life. You don’t know it if nothing happens to you right?

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• When care changes over time – Anne
  Recently, Anne’s husband can barely make it into his wheelchair on his own. She is worried about what will come next.
• Uncovering how and why caregivers care – Anne
  Anne feels that she would not be able to live with herself, if her husband was in a facility.
• The future and caregiving – Anne
  Anne is worried about the day her husband can’t get into his wheelchair, but says, “What will happen will happen, there is nothing I can do about it.”
• Support from family and friends – Anne
  It was a real shock for Anne that her husband’s family disappeared.
• Interaction with professionals – Anne
  Anne is frustrated with the lack of care her husband receives, and no longer accompanies him to see the doctor.
• Impact on health – Anne
  The stress kept building until Anne was admitted to the hospital for a week.
• Caring for yourself – Anne
  Anne finds that reading certain books help her manage how she feels.
• Advice for professionals and society – Anne
  Healthcare professionals should talk to caregivers and remind them that they need to take breaks. Anne ended up in the hospital after breaking down due to stress.
• Advice for professionals and society – Anne
  Healthcare professionals should talk to caregivers and remind them that they need to take breaks. Anne ended up in the hospital after breaking down due to stress.
• Adapting to new roles and key issues for spouses – Anne
  Anne feels she has lost her marriage. “When somebody’s chronically ill, they don’t have the energy or the patience.”