Caregivers Bill of Rights:
1. I have the right to take care of myself. This is not an act of selfishness. It will give me the capability of taking better care of my relative.
2. I have the right to seek help from others even though my relatives object. I recognize the limits of my own endurance and strength.
3. I have the right to maintain facets of my own life that does not include the person I care for, just as I would if he or she was healthy. I know that I do everything that I reasonable can for this person, and I have the right to do something’s just for myself.
4. I have the right to get angry, be depressed, and express other difficult feelings occasionally.
5. I have the right to objects any attempts by my relatives to manipulate me through guilty and/or depression.
6. I have the right to take pride in what I am accomplishing and to applaud the courage it has sometimes taken to meet the needs of my relative.
7. I have the right to protect my individuality and my right to make a life for myself that will sustain me in time when my relative no longer needs my full-time help.
8. I have the right to expect and demand that as new strides are made in finding resources to aid physically and mentally impaired persons in our country, similar strides will be made towards aiding and supporting caregivers.