One of the best tools for a caretaker is communication. Without it, you can feel alone. That can lead to depression. When my mother was taking care of my father, she isolated herself quite often. She stopped playing tennis and going out to lunch/dinner with her friends. She didn't like to talk about her situation. She was embarrassed to have other people be around my father and see how he behaves. He wasn't able to communicate well. He would say odd things and not be able to participate in a conversation. She only wanted to talk to people closest to her - my sister and myself. Sometimes she would open up to her sister or a couple of close friends, but not often. She had a difficult time hearing, so talking to her on the phone was not easy. The best tool she used to talk to us was using email and Instant Messenger. Sometimes she would text us on her cell phone.
After my mother had a stroke, I used a site called Care Pages to communicate with family and friends to keep them up to date on what was happening.
Suggested Forms of Communicating With Loved Ones- Phone
- Email
- Instant Messenger
- MySpace (Weblog space)
- YouTube (Share Videos)
- CarePages (Free Webspace)
- Blogger (Create your own blog)
- Picasa (Share Pictures)
- Flickr (Share Pictures)
- Mail (yeah ... the Post Office)