Dr. Rippe's Blog

Tomorrow, millions of Americans gathered round millions of loaded tables will take time to give thanks for the blessings of life, including that of our families. That's a great thing.

Interestingly, considerable research is showing that adopting a daily approach to giving thanks or to being grateful helps foster greater happiness and better attitudes and abilities to cope in everyday life. In some studies, people wrote in a "gratitude journal" everyday or made a list of things they were grateful for. Participants generally reported fewer physical ailments, felt better about their lives overall, and were more positive about what the near future held. Such findings in different studies held true for children and youth as well as adults.

Thinking once a day, perhaps in your personal time, for one thing or person or event that you are thankful or grateful for may be worth adding to your plan for balance.

Did you know that about one of every five American adults over aged 18 is involved in taking care of a loved one who is ill or disabled or has other special needs. And even if you aren't currently caregiving, the chances are great that most American adults at one time or another during our lives will have to care for someone. Many "boomers" (like my wife and I) have slipped into the "sandwich generation"--while we are still caring for our own children, we must also think about assisting parents as they grow older and also face health challenges. Most of us must continue to work while providing this extra care, too. Such circumstances are stressful by their very nature.

Fortunately, there are some excellent resources and online communities that may provide helpful information and support. I'd like to share several of these with you because it's never too early or too late to start checking out some basic tools and resources.

www.familycaregiving101.org is a project of the National Family Caregivers Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving. It provides information on stages of caregiving, resources on how to manage and opportunities to share with others.

www.thefamilycaregiver.org is the website of the National Family Caregivers Association. It provides a library of resources and information on public policy and advocacy. You can sign up to be part of their caregivers community.

www.caregiver.org is the website of the Family Caregiver Alliance. It provides information on caregiving and public policy and research and sponsors several online groups,