If you're the one answering the school-pickup text and your parent's phone call in the same hour, you're part of the generation in the middle. Your calendar is crowded because you're caring for two real lives at once, and that says nothing bad about you. Health coaching in Los Altos can help you put yourself back on the list without stepping away from your care team. It's education and coaching support, not a personal medical plan, and it works alongside your physician, never instead of them.
Who is the generation in the middle?
It's the people who care for an older adult and a minor child at the same time. A national profile in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that these caregivers gave the older adult similar monthly hours as other caregivers (77.4 versus 71.6 hours), and more of them were also working for pay (69.4% versus 53.9%). More reported substantial financial difficulty (23.5% versus 12.2%) and substantial emotional difficulty (44.1% versus 32.2%).
A related scoping review notes that in the 2015 National Study of Caregiving, about a quarter of adult-child caregivers (24.3%) were caring in both directions, most often in their 40s. So if two schedules need the same hour, you're not failing. You're doing a real and heavy job.
What does caregiving do to your own health?
Caregiving can leave your own health last, and a health coach in Los Altos can help you guard sleep and a little daily rest.
The CDC describes caregiving as physically, emotionally and financially straining, and notes that caregivers often put their own health last. Nearly 1 in 5 caregivers reports fair or poor health, and nearly 2 in 5 have at least two chronic conditions of their own (CDC, Dementia Caregiving as a Public Health Strategy).
Stress can show up as sleep trouble, appetite changes, anxiety, low mood or loneliness, and about half of caregivers don't get enough restful sleep. The CDC suggests reaching out to family, friends, a faith community or a support group, staying active, and taking 15 to 30 minutes a day for something that's yours (CDC, Caregivers).
An MMWR report found that in 2021-2022, 13 of 19 health indicators were worse for caregivers than for noncaregivers, including higher lifetime depression (25.6% versus 18.6%) (CDC MMWR, Changes in Health Indicators Among Caregivers).
If you have chest pain, trouble breathing, sudden confusion, thoughts of harming yourself or someone else, or any other urgent symptom, please get help now. Call 988 for mental health crisis support, or your local emergency number.
What support exists near Los Altos?
There's more caregiver support near you than you may realize, and a health coach in Los Altos works beside those programs.
There's more help nearby than many people realize. Eligibility is for each program to confirm, and it's worth checking current hours before you go, because pages change.
- Sourcewise, Santa Clara County's Area Agency on Aging, has Community Resource Specialists Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at (408) 350-3200, option 1 (Sourcewise, About). Its Family Caregiver Support Program connects caregivers to respite, case management, support groups and community resources, and the Caregivers Network offers short-term care grants up to $1,000 for eligible informal caregivers (Sourcewise, respite options in Santa Clara County).
- The Los Altos Adult 50+ Program is free and doesn't require membership. Register through a CivicRec profile or call (650) 947-2797. It meets at the Los Altos Community Center at 97 Hillview Ave and Grant Park Community Center at 1575 Holt Ave, with classes, workshops, trips, tax help and referral services (City of Los Altos, Adult 50+ Program). Los Altos was also named an Age-Friendly City by AARP and the World Health Organization in 2024.
- The Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills offers senior case management with geriatric social workers, in-home assessment, counseling and referrals at 204 Stierlin Road, Mountain View, (650) 968-0836 (CSA, Services).
- Family Caregiver Alliance is listed at (800) 445-8106 in a Stanford ADRC resource guide from 2021, so treat older numbers there as a starting map and confirm they still work.
Nationally, the National Family Caregiver Support Program funds information, counseling, support groups, training and respite for eligible caregivers of people age 60 and older.
How does health coaching fit in?
A health coach in Los Altos helps you find small habits that fit the week you actually live, beside your clinician and care team.
Health coaching at Chronic Health Wisdom is warm, judgment-free support for small, doable changes that fit the week you actually live. I offer it in the San Francisco Bay Area and by video, and it sits beside Sourcewise, your physician and your care team. It doesn't replace any of them, and it's never emergency care. I don't diagnose or prescribe, so any symptom, medicine question or change to your care plan belongs with your own physician.
We use my P.A.T.H. framework (Personalized, Awareness, Transformation, Health) to look at what's already on your plate, like blood sugar, sleep, stress, heart health and mood, and find habits that can survive school pickup. A protected block of 15 to 30 minutes for yourself is a practical place to start.
What can you do this week?
Make one local call this week and bring one question to your clinician, then see how a health coach in Los Altos can help.
Try one call. Dial Sourcewise at (408) 350-3200, option 1, or the Los Altos Adult 50+ line at (650) 947-2797, and ask what caregiver or 50+ support exists for your ZIP code. Then bring one question to your own clinician about your sleep, mood or blood pressure while you're caregiving. If you'd like to see how coaching starts, here's what happens in a first session.
A final thought
You don't have to finish everyone else's list before you earn a place on your own. Put one small step for yourself on the list this week, and let the local programs and your own clinician carry the rest with you. A free downloadable guide is at chronichealthwisdom.com/download, and you can book a free discovery call at chronichealthwisdom.com, with no pressure, ever.
You don't need to do more. You need to do what works for your body.
Cheri Sacks, RN, CDCES Your Neighbor, The Nurse
Educational only. This article is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always partner with your own clinician before changing medications, diet, or exercise.
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Related reading
- Caregiving and healthy aging
- Health coaching on the Peninsula
- Health coaching in the Bay Area
- Diabetes burnout
- First session
Frequently asked questions
No. Coaching at Chronic Health Wisdom is education and support that works alongside your medical team. Your plan stays with your clinician. Any change to medicines, diet, or exercise belongs in that partnership.
Ten minutes still counts. Quiet water at the counter, a short walk after a call, or one phone number on a sticky note is enough. The CDC's caregiver tips include taking 15 to 30 minutes a day for something that is yours when you can (CDC, Caregivers | Tips From Former Smokers).
For county caregiver resources and respite information, start with Sourcewise at (408) 350-3200, option 1. For Los Altos Adult 50+ classes and referrals, call (650) 947-2797. For urgent symptoms or thoughts of harm, call 988 or your local emergency number first.
