Lindsey Pace, LCSW

Family caregivers are unsung heroes that make up a delicately crafted, largely invisible safety net of our society. They are among the most hidden and unappreciated workers caring for the incredibly vulnerable members in our communities, the disabled, the sick, and the aging. I’m so grateful for the research and data recently published by The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP who teamed up to investigate the world of caregivers. The results of this study shed light on how grossly overburdened and pressed family caregivers are in terms of the amount of care needed by the care recipient, lack of adequate resources and reliable caregiving support services, and the consequential toll the stress is taking on the caregiver’s overall health. The researchers conducted an online survey with 1,392 caregivers who were taking care of another person (either family or friend) who was 18 years old or older. In this study a caregiver was someone who was providing unpaid care to another adult i...

I recall being in middle school and watching a popular talk show one afternoon, I can't remember if it was Jerry Springer, Rickie Lake, or Oprah, but it was during that time frame. The show topic caught my attention when I was supposed to be doing homework. They were interviewing a young girl (around my age or younger at the time) who had a condition in which she felt no pain. Ever. Nothing. Not even the slightest sensation of physical discomfort. I was immediately jealous and curious to learn more about this condition. Over the course of the interview my jealousy transformed into a deep sense of gratitude for the fact that my body was able to experience pain. This young girl who couldn’t feel pain had a rare genetic condition known as congenital insensitivity. She was interviewed alongside her mother and the two shared how incredibly devastating this condition was to the girl's health and to the entire family's well-being. One example they gave was a scenario of the girl p...