Building Support and Easing the Caregiving Load

Caring for an aging loved one can feel like a weight you're supposed to carry alone. It isn't.

In this episode of the Senior Home Companions podcast, host Kirstin McCarthy talks with Christie Freeze, a Family Caregiver Guide with CARE by Christie, about what easing the caregiving load actually looks like.

Table of Contents

• What Does Easing the Caregiving Load Actually Look Like?
• What Is the Difference Between Home Care and Home Health?
• Why Should Families Stop Trying to Do It All Alone?
• What Are the First Three Steps for a New Caregiver?
• What Should Every Family Do Before a Crisis Happens?
• What Myth About Senior Care Does Christie Want to Break?
• What Is the Best Caregiving Advice Christie Has Received?
• What Does Great Care Really Look Like?
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Does Easing the Caregiving Load Actually Look Like?

It starts with one shift: being open to support.

Christie Freeze:
"I had hundreds of families come into the communities I served feeling entirely alone. Forty, fifty, sixty years ago that might have been the case. But today there's care management, case management, and companies like Senior Home Companions that take some of that heavy lift off."

Christie Freeze:
"Especially if it's your mom or dad who took care of you your whole life, you feel like you owe it to them to be the one. But times have changed, friends. People literally exist to take the burden off you so you can be a good partner, daughter, or son — not a qualified caregiver."

What Is the Difference Between Home Care and Home Health?

Home care is companion and personal care — meal prep, medication reminders, daily tasks. This is what Senior Home Companions provides.

Home health is medical care from clinical professionals.

The two can work in tandem, but home health isn't always necessary.

Christie Freeze:
"Adult children often think support only means home health. That's a big opportunity for education. Having somebody help with what's draining your day-to-day — yes, let them help you."

Why Should Families Stop Trying to Do It All Alone?

Too often families reach out only in crisis — emotionally and physically drained.

Christie Freeze:
"It's impossible to give 100% to all those things. You send your child to daycare, you go to work, you get time away from your spouse. Even in the medical field, we're rarely trained to be a full-time caregiver for anyone other than ourselves."

What Are the First Three Steps for a New Caregiver?

1. Find a support network — a church, senior center, community, or disease-specific support group (Christie served on the board of the Indiana Parkinson Foundation).
2. Get the Roadmap for Eldercare (on Amazon) or do focused research — without falling down a rabbit hole.
3. Find an advocate — a geriatric care manager, elder law attorney, or trusted sounding board.

Christie Freeze:
"Don't feel like you should have to know all the terminology, laws, and rules. Use the resources available to you — they've done the hard work."

What Should Every Family Do Before a Crisis Happens?

Have the conversation early.

Christie Freeze:
"If you can foresee a decline, get on the same page. I hate to see families break apart or carry resentment after a loved one has passed — when it could have been avoided with open lines of communication."

What Myth About Senior Care Does Christie Want to Break?

The "nursing home" myth — the belief that it's either alone at home or a frightening facility, with nothing in between.

Christie Freeze:
"There's an entire alphabet worth of things to support aging adults. Communities look different than they did 30 or 40 years ago. Stay open-minded — I would live there today."

What Is the Best Caregiving Advice Christie Has Received?

From dementia care: therapeutic fibbing.

Christie Freeze:
"If your loved one thinks the sky is purple and we're going on an adventure — meet them where they are. If it's not harming anyone, go along with it. When we shut those things down, we shut down communication."

What Does Great Care Really Look Like?

Christie Freeze:
"We're humans taking care of humans. Give yourself space and grace — take care of yourself so you can show up in the best way possible for the people you're caring for."

The Takeaway for Families

You don't have to be a qualified caregiver to care well — you have to be supported. Build your network, lean on the resources that exist, and start the conversation before a crisis forces it. The team at Senior Home Companions is ready to help ease the load.