No matter how bad it seems. You are not in this alone

There are times when family can just drive you completely insane. I'm talking about those times such as when something trivial causes a rift within a family, or a misunderstanding will start an argument that spirals out of control. These are universal things that every family has to deal with, but when they impact the care of a loved one it is particularly difficult to take.

A search of Google quickly brings up a large number of results that concern family stress and caregivers. A couple of examples of common issues in these articles are old arguments that crop back up - even from childhood rivalries or issues that arise from the division of tasks in caring for a relative. There might be different points of view on what is best for the care recipient, where the children of an elderly woman might be divided in their feelings about providing care at home vs placement of her in a retirement home - even if it is against her will.

These are only a very few of the things that can cause strife in a family, and the main thing I want to convey here is - whatever is happening, however hard it seems to be, chances are, somewhere out here, there is another caregiver that has, is or will face the same kind of issues that you are facing at the moment. My only advice... grab a diary and pour your heart out into it. Or hop on the phone or a chat program and pour your heart out to your closest friends. If you need someone that can talk to you and understand the issues you are facing from a similar perspective then you might look around online for caregiver forums or support groups. Shared stories can go a long way toward shared healing.