• Information about resources
• Referal assistance
• Individual counseling and training
• Referrals to support groups and training workshops
• Respite services
• Supplemental Services

• Within Androscoggin County, Franklin County or Oxford County, call SeniorsPlus, the local Area Agency on Aging at 1-800-427-1241
• Within Maine, call the Elders One line, a toll-free service, at 1-877-353-3771
• In any state, call the National Eldercare Locator, a toll-free service funded by the Administration on Aging (AoA), at 800-677-1116

• Entry into a nursing home or assistance with home-based care services requires an assessment. Call Goold Healthcare for long-term care assessments at 1-800-609-7893. The assessment is free and will be completed in the home by a registered nurse. To find out more about home-based, long-term care services, click here and go to the Elder Independence of Maine website.
• Speak with an attorney or financial planner. They can help you plan the financial and legal aspects of caregiving.
• Look into local social work services. Hospitals, nursing homes, and area agencies on aging have social workers and discharge planners that can help you plan for care of a loved one.
• Call SeniorsPlus for help looking into housing options such as assisted living, boarding homes, or nursing homes, we will search our statewide resource database and provide you with contact information.

• Caregiver support groups
• Caregiver organizations - see our links section
• National organizations for specific diseases or illnesses - see our links section
• Family and friends that have been caregivers
• Administration on Aging website

Most family caregivers find themselves in a caregiving situation suddenly and unexpectedly. Caring for a spouse is the most common form of caregiving for an older person.
Most caregivers rely on experience, intuition and advice, doing the best we can without training. The role of caregiving is not easy. Support is available Caregiving for someone can be both satisfying, rewarding and frustrating. Caregivers faced with the many demands of providing care often feel the stress. This burden is the result of the emotional, physical, and financial demands required of caregivers in the normal activities of life. This caregiver stress comes with the life changes that arise when we take on the caregiving role. And how long does this caregiver stress last? It can continue indefinitely. It may endure as long as we take on the caregiver role. The good news is that there are things that we can do to cope with the situation.

Here are some ways caregivers can get support. There is much more information available that details ways caregivers can get support. Which ways beg to be tried? All of them. Coping with stress in a positive way means practicing good self care. Maintaining good health is important for caregivers in order to maintain the caregiving role for a continued time.

• Identify the stressors in your caregiving role. What situations, tasks or behaviors are most frustrating or anxiety provoking? Write them down. Think through and plan your responses to these stressful situations.
  
  
• Learn and practice stress management techniques. Relaxation exercises such as deep breathing, meditation, visualization can be helpful. Physical exercise reduces stress, too.
  
  Maintain healthy habits. Get adequate rest. Eat nutritous foods. Get adequate exercise. Plan leisure time. Avoid destructive behaviors.
  
  
• Get support from family and friends. We are raised to take pride in self sufficiency and independence. Getting help is a sign of personal strength, not weakness, and will enable you to be a more effective caregiver.
  
  
• Join a support group. Support groups can provide positive and useful information and techniques you can use. They can help caregivers feel less isolated and build strong bonds of mutual help and friendship.
  
  
• Seek out respite care. Respite care provides short-term relief for caregivers. Respite may be provided in your loved one's home or in another location, where your loved one is provided needed care.
  
  
• Beware of Stress. Caregivers sometimes expect too much of themselves and are constantly worried about neglecting others. Stressors may not be easy to recognize. The first step toward managing stress is to be aware of it. There are many resources available to help identify symptoms of stress, and learn how to deal with them.
  
  
• Think and act positive. This can help put things in the long run, which helps put the situation in perspective. Positive thinkers "reframe" difficult situations, changing them from bad to good. They see problems as challenges to be mastered. Caregivers seem to feel less stress when they face problems directly, take charge of situations and look for solutions.
  
  
• Establish your limits. You have the right to set limits on what you will do. Providing care at the expense of your mental and physical health or relationships with other family members does not benefit anyone.
  
  
• Seek professional guidance. A professional can often help you gain a clearer perspective of the situation. Seeking help early on can help avoid becoming overwhelmed by a crisis.

Portions of this material was adapted from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension's 'Caregiver' series, which was developed for educational purposes.

If you would like to learn more about any of the information you have read here, contact SeniorsPlus at 1-800-427-1241 and ask to speak with the Caregiver Specialist.