Caregiver Stress Part 1

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, "Caregiver" a person who provides direct care (as for children, elderly people, or the chronically ill).  That sounds so simple doesn’t it?  The reality is that care-giving is hard.  Not just physically, which it is, but mentally, emotionally and financially as well.

When a person becomes a caregiver, their other daily responsibilities do not change or go away, they simply become amplified.   The need to juggle those responsibilities with the duties of care-giving leads to Caregiver Stress.  This is true regardless of the condition of your loved one.   Caregiver stress is hard to recognize, because of the day to day struggles.  It is usually not recognized until the caregiver becomes ill themselves, or they are faced with a crisis, they cannot handle on their own. 

Caregiver stress is similar to common stress and includes feeling overwhelmed, being pessimistic, displaying an inability to relax and having widespread aches and pains.  

Women are at higher risk for caregiver stress because they are the majority of caregivers.  Women are also more likely to provide the physically and emotionally difficult tasks of personal care, such as bathing and hygiene.   Women also feel duty bound to handle the physical needs of caring for their spouse even when they have their own health issues.  This can cause their own health to decline.

If the caregiver lives with the person, they are providing care for, they are typically providing twice as many hours a week than they would if they lived separately.  These caregivers also tend to be members of the sandwich generation, people who are caring for parents and their own children.  According to Family Caregiver Alliance, 17% of the workers in the country are caring for a loved one.

Caregivers for individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s often have the added struggle of dealing with behaviors, such as wandering and agitation.  When safety issues are a routine part of the day, the risk of burnout is higher.  Having to cope with behaviors, incontinence, memory loss or sleep problems also lead to greater levels of stress. 

Caregivers often feel they do not have a choice when it comes to taking on that role.  The child that lives closest to a parent, or the one that does not get help from siblings may struggle to manage their own feelings of frustration or resentment.