I am a Spousal or Partner Caregiver
Of the 53 million family caregivers in the US, almost six million are caring for a spouse or partner*. Reports indicate that spousal caregiving tends to be higher intensity than other types of caregiving due to increase in health related tasks and financial loss. Also, most caregivers of spouses or partners tend to be described as solo caregivers.
Podcast Episodes featuring a Spouse Caregiver
Getting Organized
Tara Ross brings a wealth of personal experience and unwavering support to fellow caregivers, drawing from more than a decade of caregiving roles. Having navigated the complexities of caring for a veteran, her in-laws, and balancing the needs of young children and pets, Tara intimately understands the challenges caregivers face. In this episode of the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast, Tara shares her journey of overcoming caregiver burnout and implementing strategies to prevent future exhaustion. She also discusses how her own caregiving journey inspired her to develop innovative products to assist other caregivers. And, Tara introduces a transformative visual tool designed to help caregivers assess their energy levels and maintain balance in their lives.
Stop Judging
Sabrina Ortolano has been a caregiver for her wife, Cyndi, since 2014 when Cyndi was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. In this episode of the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast, Sabrina and I talk about her identity crisis that sprouted from caregiving, the importance of body work, fundraising for brain surgery, asking for the right help, and managing judgment from others and unsolicited advice.
Speak Your Truth
Allison Breininger has an MA in Education and spent twenty years in the realm of education. At 31, she became a caregiver for her husband, Sean, when he was diagnosed with the rare genetic disease Fanconi Anemia. She has been by his side through countless treatments and experienced firsthand that caregivers are in what she calls ‘the negative space’: vital yet overlooked and unsupported. In this episode, Allison shares why caregivers are part of the story and need to be recognized, why the oxygen mask analogy falls short, what tried and true tools help her in her caregiving life, and why ‘brightsiding’ is detrimental for care advocacy and caregiver wellness.
- Hope for Caregivers – Peter Rosenberger
- Massive Acceptance & Radical Presence – Sue Ryan
- A Nomad Caregiving Life – Anthony Copeland-Parker
- Overcoming Limiting Beliefs – Debbie Weiss
- Living Bold While Caregiving – Belva Denmark Tibbs
- Caregiving Support from TikTok – Joe Vazquez
- Loving Your Caregiving Life – Charlotte Bayala
- Staying Afloat While Caregiving – Matthew Cauli
- Loving Through Dementia – Sheila Welch
- Cocktails & Caregivers – Amanda Clark
- Navigating Military Family Caregiving – Caira Benson
- Advocacy During a Pandemic – Mary Daniel
- Caregiver Burnout – Kate Washington
- Coping with a Life-Changing Caregiving Situation – Rachel Davis
- Reclaiming Your Identity – Ashley Jackson
- Intentional Self-Care – Geoff Grant
- Poetry & Embodiment – Alyssa Kuzins
- Early Onset Alzheimer’s – Pat Moffett
- Find Your People, Ditch the Guilt – Cynthia Lim
- Shared Death Experience – Sharon Prentice
- Staying Present – Beth Scibienski
- Moving Cross Country – Donna O’Donnell Figurski
- The Power of Resiliency – Bruce McIntyre
- Relationships & Love Languages
- Surviving the Double Decker Sandwich Generation – Jason Miller
Articles
From Our Gift Shop
Books
For Date Night or Extra Help
- The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
- Thrive Anyway by Bruce McIntyre
- The Sudden Caregiver: A Roadmap for Resilient Caregiving by Karen Warner Schueler
- Crated with Love Monthly Date Night Games
Other Spouse Caregiver & Self-Care Resources
- Wellspouse.org – A non-profit which advocates and addresses the needs of the “well” spouses – the individuals caring for a chronically ill and/or disabled spouse or partner.
- WAGS of SCI – Wives and Girlfriends of spinal cord injury
- CaringBridge – Create a free website to easily share updates with friends and family
*Source: AARP and The National Alliance for Caregiving report: Caregiving in the US 2020