Why does the thought of my parent in a long-term care facility make me feel so guilty?

Why does the thought of my parent in a long-term care facility make me feel so guilty?

Karl Steinberg (Associate Medical Director, Sharp Mission Park Medical Group) gives expert video advice on: How can I plan for long-term care?; How do I prepare financially for long-term care?; How do I prepare legally for long-term care? and more...

The picture that Americans have in their mind of the nursing home is not a pleasant place. When you think, I have to put my parents in one of those places, number one you think, "well, we are warehousing them, we are just waiting for them to die." At some level this may be true, but they are not terrible places. Sometimes that is just the reality. People have their own lives, they are not able to devote their entire life to taking care of their parents, as much as they might like to do that. Also, people feel guilty because they feel that they are failing, that they are not able to do what is expected. That still happens in many other cultures as far as caring for your parents. I think our parents took care of us when we were little and we feel like we owe them. Of course, we do owe them, but there is a limit as to how much can be done.