Care giving could be very rewarding but no doubt has many stressors too. Since caring is usually a long term thing the emotional impact can grow bigger very quickly. You could for instance feel disheartened should you feel overloaded, or if there is no hope of your loved one getting better despite your efforts and their condition keeps deteriorating.
If the stress of caregiving is left unchecked it can take a toll on your health, relationships and eventually lead to burnout: a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. At this point both you and the person you are caring for suffer. Therefore taking care of yourself is not a luxury but rather a necessity and cultivating your own emotional and physical wellbeing is as important as taking your loved one to their doctor’s appointment or taking their meds on time.
Some Signs and Symptoms of Caregiver Stress/Burnout
It is important to identify these signs so that you can take immediate action to avoid the situation becoming worse and so begin to improve conditions for you and the one you are caring for.
Common signs and symptoms
- Difficulty in sleeping: There is a lot of tossing and turning and almost never able to have a good night’s rest.
- Feeling tired and run down and this is true even when you have taken a nap and woken up. It feels even more tiring after this.
- Trouble concentrating or focusing
- Cutting back on leisure activities
- Much less energy than you once had. It feels as though you are unable to do activities you otherwise in the past did effortlessly. These same activities now require so much psyching up and effort before you are able to do even a part unlike before.
How to Cope
According to studies, the feeling of helplessness is the number one contributor to burnout and depression. But you really are not powerless; that feeling is a trap you fall in as a caregiver, especially where your state of mind is concerned. This is because you may not always get extra time, money or physical assistance that works for you, BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS GET MORE HOPE AND HAPPINESS.
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