Do you provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, disabled or in need of care for a long period of time? Then you are informal caregiver. Many informal caregivers don’t think enough about their own health and boundaries. Wicorel Koning is informal care coordinator at inZet and explains what help you can get.
‘I need support’, reads the large button on the website stake. Because the organization for healthcare and welfare is happy to offer that support. If you have financial concerns, for example. Or if you have problems at home, questions about your child’s education or no (safe) shelter.
And also if you are an informal caregiver. Do you have practical questions or is it all too much? “Also take good care of yourself and sound the alarm on time if it becomes too much,” says Wicorel Koning, Informal Care Coordinator at inZet. “We are happy to offer a listening ear and, together with you, look at what options there are to ease your task or to work on healthy boundaries. Totally free.”
What exactly is informal care?
You officially fall within the category of informal caregiver if you provide intensive care, unpaid and unorganized (i.e. apart from, for example, a volunteer organization), for someone who is long-term ill, disabled, addicted or in need of help in some other way. This care often feels self-evident – because it is for family or friends, for example – but, due to its duration and intensity, it can, without you realizing it, result in a heavy ‘job’ of arranging matters, guidance tasks and care tasks.
“Bringing your elderly neighbor a pan of soup once a week is often a small effort,” says Wicorel. “But before you know it you are thinking about health complaints and aids and the point of contact for doctors. This can gradually increase and then you suddenly become an informal caregiver. But it can also happen very suddenly, if your partner has a stroke or accident.”
Compensation for informal caregivers
Each municipality receives a budget to support or reward informal caregivers. This compensation often depends on the intensity of the care provided and municipalities themselves choose how to shape this. In one municipality you receive a bouquet of flowers, in another a nice amount of money.
Sometimes an informal caregiver falls through the requirements of this reimbursement. You can also contact inZet for free. “There are many degrees of ‘caring for’, from being kind to your neighbors to being busy day and night with care tasks,” Wicorel explains. “But in both cases it costs some of your time, money or your own (mental) health. If you only have an hour of free time in your week and you spend it with that pan of soup for your neighbor, this can be intense. It’s about how people experience it.”
And we should not only take practical care into account, they believe at inZet. “My colleague and I always assume that being an informal caregiver does not just mean providing practical help,” says Wicorel. “There are also a lot of concerns involved. The health problems of your partner, child or parent also affect you. You may have trouble sleeping, you may experience stress or you may have a shorter fuse.”
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Bet: “Think of yourself too”
Is it becoming too much for an informal caregiver? Then Wicorel or her colleague will talk to that person. “Sometimes it is a practical question, but more often it concerns loneliness or overload. It’s too much, but: if I don’t do it, who will? We then try to emphasize how important it is to also (and first) take care of yourself. It may feel selfish, but if you continue like this and you get into problems with your (mental) health, you will no longer be able to care for your loved one at all.”
But even before that happens, you are welcome for a conversation. “It is not the case that you are only entitled to help when the water is already up to your lips,” says Wicorel. “You are very welcome for any question or feeling, no matter how small.”
Looking for solutions together
If you could use some support, inZet colleagues will look at the possibilities with you. “Who can we ask for help within your own network? And what is possible from volunteer organizations? For example, do you have to go out every now and then but don’t want to leave your sick partner at home alone? Then there is, for example, Thuismaatjes in Zoetermeer – they send someone to keep your partner company while you arrange things or have some time for yourself. If it is more complicated, we can ask other professionals or your health insurance for help.”
In addition to practical solutions (relieving the burden), it is also important to look at structural limits and energy providers for yourself as an informal caregiver: increasing your carrying capacity. “Are you taking good care of yourself? And what do you need for this? It often helps to talk to others who are in a similar situation. That is why we also organize informal care cafés, coffee hours and special consultation hours.”
A listening ear without judgement
“We never judge, everything can be said,” Wicorel emphasizes. “Sometimes caregivers develop difficult feelings or thoughts, bitterness or even feelings of revenge. These are very understandable emotions in a difficult situation. It often helps to talk about this with someone who is completely outside of it, who is on your side.”
If certain emotions or problems appear to lie deeper, you will be referred to the right person. “If I notice that it really concerns deep-rooted character traits, trauma or grief, then it is better to talk to a psychologist.”
How do I sound the alarm as an informal caregiver?
Are you or do you know an informal caregiver and do you recognize the problems or emotions in this article? Do not hesitate to contact inZet! You can also find more information about informal caregiver registration and the municipal informal care valuation.
Below we list the different routes to informal care support at inZet.
- Online: Via the website of stake you can easily register with a question. Mention that you are an informal caregiver. They will then contact you to connect you to the right person.
- Telephone: Call the general number (079 888 77 70) of inZet and submit your request for assistance. This number is available between 9:30 AM and 4:30 PM.
- Walk-in locations: Walk into one of the drop-in locations and ask your question. There is also a special informal care consultation hour every Thursday afternoon from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the walk-in location Noordhove & Seghwaert (address: Petuniatuin 7a in Zoetermeer, next to Seghwaert Physiotherapy).
- Request for informal care valuation: As an informal caregiver, have you applied for your informal care rating from the municipality? Then you may have already noticed: during the application you can indicate that you would like to have a conversation. inZet will then contact you.