Caregiver Stress: The Warning Signs and How to Protect Your Own Health

Looking after someone else can quietly wear down your own health. Caregivers often set their own needs aside to meet everyone else's, and over the long term that raises the risk of real illness. Taking care of yourself is not selfish: if you feel better, you can care better for the person who depends on you.

Who counts as a caregiver

A caregiver helps someone who can't fully take care of themselves — a child, an adult or an older adult — because of an injury, chronic illness or disability.

• Informal caregivers are usually family or friends; others are paid professionals.
• Care may happen at home, in a hospital or another health setting, or from a distance.
• Tasks can include help with bathing, eating and medicines, arranging activities and medical care, and making health and financial decisions.

Caregiving can be rewarding: it can strengthen your bond with a loved one and bring a sense of fulfilment. It can also be stressful and even overwhelming — complex demands, often with no training or help, sometimes on top of a job and children or others to care for.

Signs of caregiver stress

Caregiver stress comes from the emotional and physical strain of caregiving, and many caregivers have it. Watch for:

• feeling overwhelmed, or alone, isolated or deserted
• sleeping too much or too little
• gaining or losing a lot of weight
• feeling tired most of the time
• losing interest in things you used to enjoy
• becoming easily irritated or angry
• often feeling worried or sad
• frequent headaches or body aches
• turning to smoking or drinking too much

What long-term stress can do

Long-term caregiver stress raises the risk of health problems, some of them serious:

• depression and anxiety
• a weakened immune system
• excess weight and obesity
• chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes or arthritis — and depression and obesity raise these risks further
• trouble with short-term memory or paying attention

Easing the load

• Learn better ways to help. Hospitals, for example, offer classes on caring for someone with a particular injury or illness.
• Use community resources. Many areas have adult day care or respite services that give you a break.
• Ask for help — and accept it. List ways others could help and let them choose: sitting with your loved one while you run an errand, or picking up groceries.
• Join a caregiver support group to share stories and tips with people facing the same challenges.
• Get organised with to-do lists and a daily routine.
• Stay in touch with family and friends for emotional support.
• Look after your own health: be active on most days, eat well, sleep enough, and keep up with checkups and screenings.
• Consider a break from work if you're overwhelmed. Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year to care for relatives. Ask your human resources office about options.

Sources

Based on "Caregiver Health," MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, drawing on the Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health; a work of the United States government in the public domain.