Caring for an elderly loved one can and will cause stress. If you were ever a parent who raised even one child, you know how stressful that can be. That same type of stress exists when caring for a loved one on a daily basis.
When you take care of your kids, the stress has nothing to do with how much you love them. You can love someone and still be aware of frazzled nerves. That stress can be even more pronounced when you are the caregiver for a loved one who can no longer care for him or herself. If the care is amplified by a traumatic injury or illness, the added responsibility can bring your daily life to a halt. This shift from normal life to life of a caregiver can cause severe stress.
Recognizing Caregiver Stress
The key to staying as stress-free as possible is to recognize when it is trying to creep up on you. Here are some signs:
- Short tempered
- Tired all the time
- Increased incidence of illness
- Weight gain or weight loss
- Headaches
- Depression or anxiety
- Short-term memory loss
When you show signs of stress, get the help that you need. Stress is a part of every life, but how much depends on your coping mechanisms. And if anyone ever needed good coping mechanisms it would be a caregiver. Here are some ways to give you a break to gather the pieces back together.
Ask for help. Consult other family members to pitch in when you need a break.
Take a trip. Coordinate with another person to care for your loved one while you head out for a weekend getaway to rest and rejuvenate.
Stay physically active. Stress can weaken your immune system. When you stay active, you build it back up. You also increase endorphin production which gives you a sense of positive well-being.
Delegate. There is no shame if the work just gets to be too much for you. Don’t quit though. Instead, find ways to outsource certain tasks to lighten your load. Consider using Meals-on-Wheels, nursing care for bathing and medical issues, adult daycare to give you a break during the day, housekeeping services once a week to help with clean up.
Join a support group. Just being with others who understand what you are going through can help you breathe a sigh of relief. They may be able to offer suggestions you hadn’t thought of to decrease stress and increase the enjoyment of providing care for your loved one.
Caregivers are prone to stress in their lives. If you think that this is happening to you, use these suggestions to relieve the stress and gain control of your life again. There are many well written books that can help you as a caregiver by providing information, inspiration, and practical advice written by people who have experienced what you are going through, or health care professionals who can give you the answers you need. Check out a large selection of caregiver information here.
2 responses so far ↓
1 firstSTREET // Oct 11, 2010 at 11:58 am
Great post about a very important topic. Caregiver burnout is an easy situation to fall into, and you present some useful tips on how to recognize it and fight it. Thanks for sharing!
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2 Edie // Oct 11, 2010 at 1:24 pm
All caregivers need to be aware of the potential for burnout, and hopefully the more information we can get out there the better! Thank you for your kind comments and for stopping by.
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