Coping with Caregiver Stress
Home Instead Senior Care in Austin helps families cope with Caregiver Stress. Please call us at 512-347-9207 when seeking non-medical, companionship, and professional caregvers in Austin.
Caregiver Stress-Stress and spousal caregiving
Naturally, you wouldn’t think twice about caring for your partner now that they are in a situation where there’s a growing need for your assistance. Whether it is a chronic health problem, issues with mobility or decreased cognitive function, your support will likely be necessary.
Sometimes caring for a spouse can leave the family caregiver feeling overwhelmed and stressed. This can be compounded if the caregiver is also taking over responsibilities that were once handled solely by their ailing spouse, from cooking and doing laundry, to balancing the checkbook and heading up the financial decisions.
Signs that Spousal Caregiving May Be Becoming Too Risky for You:
* Missing or delaying your own doctor appointments
* Ignoring your own health problems or symptoms
* Not eating a healthy diet
* Overusing tobacco and alcohol
* Giving up exercise habits
* Losing sleep
* Losing connections with friends
* Bottling up feelings of anger and frustration and then being surprised by angry, even violent, outbursts directed at your spouse, other family members, co-workers – even strangers
* Feeling sad, down, depressed or hopeless
* Loss of energy
* Lacking interest in things that used to give you pleasure
* Feeling resentful toward your spouse
* Blaming your spouse for the situation
* Feeling that people ask more of you than they should
* Feeling like caregiving has affected family relationships in a negative way
* Feeling annoyed by other family members who don’t help out or who criticize your care
Reaching out and asking for help is a very healthy thing to do if you are feeling overwhelmed. Look into hiring a part time caregiver to come in and help. Take back “you” again. It’s important.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Such good information…
What goes on inside the mind of a “spousal caregiver” (a terribly academic-sounding term, to me…) is beyond description…
Ranging from fond memories of good days together that have come and gone, to an intense aching, a desire to see those days again…
Thanks for increasing everyone’s awareness through this post,
- J.T.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I saw this happen with my aunt a breast cancer survivor. Her husband was 14 years older and as he became more immobile and ill, she did not take care of herself as far as eating properly, going to her own doctor’s appts. and then the stress of watching him not try for seven weeks after a non life threatening surgery pushed her body toward cancer again. 2 months after her husband died, almost 5 years after she beat breast cancer, she was diagnosed again. We all knew that she gave of herself totally and the research shows that many caregivers do become ill during and/or after their stint as a caregiver.
November 9th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
It’s great to bring “care-giver stress” into the light.
It’s so important for care-givers to remember to take care of themselves. We certainly can’t be much help to others if we are not in good mental or physical health ourselves.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Thank you, Jill, for your comment.
Yes, it is extremely important for family caregivers and professional ones too to care for ourselves.
Best, Carol