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portday Asked August 2013

How do you cope with feeling alone? Husband is 90 % bedridden with Parkinson's disease. Saying goodbye to what use to be.

EXPERT Carol Bradley Bursack, CDSGF Sep 2013
Standingalone has it right, Portday. This is a very hard time for you. You need to find a way to get out and have some time for yourself. If you belong to a church, you might want to check and see if they have anyone trained the Stephen Ministry. These are lay ministers trained to work with people like you and may be able to provide you some respite personally or find a way that someone else can.

You could check with your Area Agency on Aging. Perhaps they have some reference to people who could sit with your husband while you have an afternoon off. This is vital for your personal health.

If you type the name of your state and the word "aging" or some similar search words, you should find your state's version of the National Family Cargiver Support Program. It many have a slightly different name, but every state has one.
Use the contact information give to search for help.

Please do keep coming back to the site. People here may be "virtual friends" but they do understand what you are going through. Our situations aren't all identical but we share many aspects. Being lonely in caregiving is not unusual. Please do search out some help.
Take care,
Carol

StandingAlone Sep 2013
This job, unfortunately, can make you feel isolated and alone. It's very sad. But you can reach out to others, just like you're doing right now. We're here for you whenever you want to talk, or need to vent. You will not feel alone here.

Do you have neighbors, friends that you talk to, that visit? Do you have children? Are you the sole care giver for your husband? I'm just curious. If your husband can't leave the house, maybe there are things you can do together at home. What about movie nights, and a special dinner together? There are on line games that you can play together. I play some myself, and they're really a lot of fun.

Even getting out of the house one day a week for some ME time is going to become very important to you, even if it's just getting out for a walk. Can you tell us more about your situation? Stay strong! We get it around here. *hugs*

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