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Caregivers Struggle with Caring for Loved Ones

Caring for someone who is sick or aging can have a tremendous impact on one's life. It can cause financial, legal and emotional stress. In California, most long-term care is provided by family membe

Caregivers Struggle with Caring for Loved Ones

First broadcast on July 22, 2008.

Maureen Cavanaugh : Close to two million California households are caring for someone over the age of 50 who can't take care of him or herself. Caregiving is a common reality. It's like having a second job. Or in some cases, the needs are so great, it's the only job a person is able to do. It can be rewarding. But it's just as likely to be frustrating and and stressful. It can result in loss of work and financial difficulties.

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The need to provide care for a sick mother or father, for a disabled child, or perhaps an in-law is not going to go away. In fact, as the baby boom generation grows old the need will increase. Add to that the fact that members of younger generations in this country have been having fewer children, and the question becomes: who is going to be around to provide care for those who need it in the future?

Last summer, Tom Fudge talked with Dr. Daniel D. Sewell, a professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego, and Veronika Glenn, director of education & technology for the Southern Caregiver Resource Center. He began the interview by asking Glenn what kind of patients she sees.

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