Caregiving: The Silent Energy Drain

Members, please join us for our next member webinar on Thursday 03/28/24, 12PM PT/3PM ET

Silent. And for me, unexpected.

Almost two and a half years ago my stepfather died, and my mom (his wife of 37 years) was left living alone in the big, two-story house I grew up in. As my siblings and I stepped in to support her we discovered a variety of things, big and small, that she and my stepdad were just handling on their own. I don’t have kids, which was a conscious choice, so it’s not like I had either experience nor expertise in caregiving of any sort. I mean, I did OK when my significant other had COVID, but (knock on wood) my life has been remarkably free of having to take care of loved ones. Until now. it’s not like my mom lives with me; I’m not doing that kind of hands on, 24/7 caregiving. Even so, I’ve been shocked by how much impact it has had on me to do that which I simply never did before.

And I’m not alone.

In addition to the 40% of US households that have a child under 18 living at home, 25% of adults give regular care to other loved ones.

From the outset,

Jory Des Jardins

and I felt like “energy management” had to be one of Optionality’s core topics. That encompasses wellness and wellbeing, and it supplants “work-life balance,” because being able to properly manage our physical, mental, and emotional energy seems like a core requirement of maximizing the optionality in our lives.

That being the case, our Optionality member webinar* this month will offer real talk and a 360° view on how caregiving is impacting us all, including:

• How prevalent caregiving duties are for people in the workforce and how current workforce policy does and does not account for this prevalence

• The logistical and financial burdens of caregiving, and how to find private and public resources to help you lighten the load

• The silent drain caregiving can be on your sense of control, mental capacity, and emotional resilience

• Why conversations about wellness and wellbeing in the workplace seem to gloss over caregiving and how to address in your workplace

* Optionality webinars are only for Optionality members, free of charge. By registering your email for one of our webinars, you are agreeing to receive Optionality’s free weekly newsletter for Public members. You may unsubscribe or upgrade to Premium membership at any time.

Are you dealing with caregiving duties? And what else is there that you would want to talk about?

To make the conversation as robust as possible, we have lined up the following speakers who have both expertise and lived experience, so we hope to be able to be deeply helpful:

• Karen Chong is the Vice President, Audience Strategy, Age Inclusion, AARP.  and leads the enterprise-wide strategy for raising awareness of the impact of age discrimination while challenging the outdated, negative stereotypes associated with aging. As a leader within the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Chong develops strategic partnerships to help break through social and digital clutter while focusing on expanding AARP’s reach. Sparking this culture and systemic shift in how we view aging is fundamental to AARP’s mission to empower us to be able to choose how we live as we age. AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with 38 million members and the most widely-read publications in the world. @karenrightnow @aarp

• Kim Moy is the founder of Caregiver Wisdom, a startup venture that supports family caregivers of loved ones with chronic, debilitating illnesses. Kim is leveraging her 30 years as a digital content leader and journalist and combining her content skills, personal life experiences, and deep passion to build the company. Caregiver Wisdom offers expert advice, trustworthy resources, and community connection so that family caregivers can thrive. Born from her lived experience of the “triple squeeze” of parenting, eldercare, and spousal care, learn more about Kim’s story here: https://www.caregiverwisdom.net/post/fighting-an-epidemic-of-caregiver-burnout-from-invisible-illnesses-like-me-cfs-and-long-covid

• Liz O’Donnell is is the Founder of WorkingDaughter.com, which supports women balancing eldercare, career, and more. An award-winning writer, her book, Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning A Living, was named one of the Best Books of the Year by Library Journal. In 2020, she launched National Working Daughters Day. A former family caregiver she is a recognized expert on working while caregiving. Liz works with companies to create programs in support of working caregivers. She also coaches individuals creating personalized plans to help them navigate the caregiving years. A long-time marketing executive and working mother, she is active in her community and committed to supporting other women.

• Moderator Elisa Camahort Page is the co-founder of Optionality and a fractional executive and strategic consultant who launches and scales businesses, products, and authentic user communities. Elisa was previously the co-founder and COO of BlogHer, Inc. Elisa is also a frequent public speaker and the co-author of Road Map for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Activism, and Advocacy for All. Elisa doesn’t have kids and has been entirely taken by surprise by everything involved in supporting her mother after her stepfather’s passing two years ago.