The True Impact of Elder Care on Family In Home Care Providers in Gilford NH

Every year, millions of family members act as unpaid in home caregivers to loved ones across America. As of 2015, there was an estimated 34 million people classified as primary care providers – and that number increases every single year.

While there are a great many unpaid in home care providers in the U.S., you do not understand what it is truly like to be one until you become one. The truth is, the emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion takes a great toll. Day-to-day life is much more difficult because there is another person to care for, someone who needs you for basic tasks and needs. In turn, this can become incredibly overwhelming for any family member.

The Impacts of Unpaid Elder Care on In Home Care Providers in Gilford

Physical Health Impacts

Physically, being an unpaid in home care provider is taxing when you have a spouse, parent, or grandparent to look out for. Overexertion is common amongst caregivers, as they stretch themselves thin to be able to do everything required of them. In doing so, this puts in home care providers at risk, since they typically deprioritize their own health in the end, neglecting their diet, sleeping less, and omitting other essentials.

Fast facts:

• Amongst in home care providers, there are high rates of lack of exercise, insomnia, and poor eating habits.
• Finding time for regular medical visits are typically a struggle for unpaid caregivers.
• Mortality rates are higher among family care providers, along with higher levels of chronic conditions and injuries.

Mental Health Impacts

Stress, depression, and anxiety are common amongst unpaid family caregivers. In fact, they are so common within the unpaid caregiving community that these mental health conditions have their own term: caregiver burnout. A term coined by doctors and psychologists; it is a distinct phenomenon of a series of conditions that feed off each other. Stress leads to depression, depression to self-neglect, and so on, leading to other issues, such as poor sleeping and eating habits, which exacerbate their effects.

Fast facts:

• In family home care providers, premature aging is linked to a history of extreme stress.
• Unpaid caregivers report unusually high levels of stress in surveys.
• Also noted in surveys are high rates of depression in family care providers.

Professional Impacts

It takes a lot of time and energy to care for a loved one who is elderly or requires assistance. Predictably, unpaid care providers often struggle to continue to work in their career. With caregiving duties on the side, it can be exhausting to keep up, and almost impossible to find a balance. Typically, caregivers end up losing their job or quitting.

In the meantime, companies lose billions of dollars every year when staff and employees try to juggle caregiving duties, because of absenteeism, lateness, and sick days.

Fast facts:

• Approximately 6 out of 10 unpaid caregivers try to maintain their job even though they are caring for a loved one.
• Several care providers end up quitting or getting fired as a result of their caregiving responsibilities.
• In about two-thirds of cases, unpaid family care providers must make considerable adjustments to their work life.

Family Impacts

In many cases, care for a loved one falls on the shoulders of a sole family member. Often, this leads to conflicts between the unpaid care provider and the other members of the family who do not help.

The dynamic of the relationship between the care recipient and caregiver often changes. In many cases, this change in relationship creates stress and conflict. What is more, caregivers cannot spend as much time as they would like with their spouse or children because of these responsibilities.

Fast facts:

• Most unpaid care providers report that their caregiving duties have strained their relationship with their loved one.
• Normally, it is a struggle for family caregivers to find the time for their own children or partner.
• Frequently, unpaid care providers say they do not get much – or any – support from their siblings or other family members.

How Home Care Services Can Help

As an in home care provider, Visiting Angels Gilford ensures your loved one gets the assistance they need to remain independent. With skilled, experienced aides, we can provide support for your family member full-time, part-time, or occasionally. But also, an in home care provider helps the primary family caregiver, allowing them the opportunity to recharge their batteries, run errands, or go to medical appointments.  

At Visiting Angels Gilford, our professionals can take on as much workload as you need – even the most challenging tasks. In turn, family caregivers get much-needed assistance, which improves their emotional, mental, and physical state.

Looking for a professional in home care provider? Then look no further than our experts at Visiting Angels Gilford. Call us today to find out more about our various care services.