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Caregiving and Burnout
Published by Chapster on 2003/12/31 (1239 reads)
Caring for a sick loved one affects every area of our lives - every area. The impact of caregiving often leaves us struggling with feelings of burnout, ill-will, and even physical sickness. This article discusses caregiving and burnout. The following article is a transcript of an interview between Barb and Dr. James Griffin, Station Director of KEOM - 88.5FM.
Q: Who are caregivers?
A: Typically, these are adults in their 40's, 50's, and 60's who are caring for their aging parents. There are about 22 million families - or 1in 4 - that care for some elderly family member (About 82% are women and about 74% are married). Most often, these caregivers are either caring for their elderly parent or parents in their own home, or are trying to help out their parents who reside many miles away or in another state, or maintain regular visits to their loved ones in a long term care facility. Today's caregiver group is often called the Sandwich Generationť because they are simultaneously giving care to their children and their aging parents - a tough balancing act under any circumstance!
Q: How much time during a week do they devote to caregiving and what does it entail?
A: Many caregivers (about 61%) spend over 40 hours during the course of a week, helping with activities of daily living, shopping, or providing help with personal care.
When you consider that a good percentage of these women also have full-time jobs outside the house, that most have had no real healthcare training, and that most are unaware of what is available in the community to possibly help them, its no wonder that about 60% of caregivers also suffer from depression.
Q: What are the greatest needs of caregivers?
Because most caregivers are caring for their elderly parents by themselves - (about 34% don't even receive help from their family or friends) - most caregivers say that their greatest needs are for some rest and time for themselves. Others say that the hardest part is watching their elderly parents decline in health or that their parents are uncooperative, maybe even being angry or showing aggressive behavior. This is often true for those who are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's Disease or some other dementia. (Many of these folks could benefit from a caregiver support group where they can talk about these difficult sides to caregiving.)
Q: What is caregiver burnout and what causes it?
A: Burnout is just what it implies - you've used up all your energy and resources and there's nothing left to give. Basically, it's caused by stress related to the demands of caregiving, of environmental factors such as working outside of the home, of one's home life, and of not taking time-out for oneself. There's a sense of failure to meet unrealistic expectations that destroys one's sense of confidence and adequacy. These things tend to have a domino effect, wherein each individual stressor affects another until the caregiver's ability to balance these demands is depleted.
What are the signs and symptoms of caregiver burnout?
Feeling exhausted, out of control, lashing out at friends, family, or co-workers, increased desire for isolation, loss of interest in hobbies or other formerly enjoyable activities, changes in eating habits, sleep changes, and basically, those “buttons” that we all have are much easier to get pushed.
How can caregivers get help?
Contact local agencies related to your loved one's condition, such as the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Dallas or Tarrant County, the American Cancer Society. Find out about senior citizen centers in your community, or look into a good Adult Day Care center so that you can get a break occasionally during the day and increase your loved one's activity level and socialization with others. You can find links to all of these organizations in our website, elderhope.com.
On a more personal note - self-care is the main priority when caregiving. You have to set boundaries and limits to what you will do - you must be able to say, No,ť or I can't,ť or I'm not available.ť You don't owe an explanation to these responses. These simply help you to have enough time and energy to do what you really need and want to do as a caregiver and a person! Lastly, insure that you set clearly defined times for things that you enjoy - on a daily or weekly basis - and be sure to ask for help from others - let them know specifically how they can help you - such as asking a neighbor to pick up a prescription or another small task. If you can try to do these things: set boundaries and realistic expectations, ask and take the help of family and friends, find out about what’s available in your community to help, and take time out for yourself, you stand a better chance of giving the care and love that you want to give to your loved one while maintaining enough energy to also enjoy all the other important aspects of your life.
(Statistics are from LivingStrategies.com
Q: Who are caregivers?
A: Typically, these are adults in their 40's, 50's, and 60's who are caring for their aging parents. There are about 22 million families - or 1in 4 - that care for some elderly family member (About 82% are women and about 74% are married). Most often, these caregivers are either caring for their elderly parent or parents in their own home, or are trying to help out their parents who reside many miles away or in another state, or maintain regular visits to their loved ones in a long term care facility. Today's caregiver group is often called the Sandwich Generationť because they are simultaneously giving care to their children and their aging parents - a tough balancing act under any circumstance!
Q: How much time during a week do they devote to caregiving and what does it entail?
A: Many caregivers (about 61%) spend over 40 hours during the course of a week, helping with activities of daily living, shopping, or providing help with personal care.
When you consider that a good percentage of these women also have full-time jobs outside the house, that most have had no real healthcare training, and that most are unaware of what is available in the community to possibly help them, its no wonder that about 60% of caregivers also suffer from depression.
Q: What are the greatest needs of caregivers?
Because most caregivers are caring for their elderly parents by themselves - (about 34% don't even receive help from their family or friends) - most caregivers say that their greatest needs are for some rest and time for themselves. Others say that the hardest part is watching their elderly parents decline in health or that their parents are uncooperative, maybe even being angry or showing aggressive behavior. This is often true for those who are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's Disease or some other dementia. (Many of these folks could benefit from a caregiver support group where they can talk about these difficult sides to caregiving.)
Q: What is caregiver burnout and what causes it?
A: Burnout is just what it implies - you've used up all your energy and resources and there's nothing left to give. Basically, it's caused by stress related to the demands of caregiving, of environmental factors such as working outside of the home, of one's home life, and of not taking time-out for oneself. There's a sense of failure to meet unrealistic expectations that destroys one's sense of confidence and adequacy. These things tend to have a domino effect, wherein each individual stressor affects another until the caregiver's ability to balance these demands is depleted.
What are the signs and symptoms of caregiver burnout?
Feeling exhausted, out of control, lashing out at friends, family, or co-workers, increased desire for isolation, loss of interest in hobbies or other formerly enjoyable activities, changes in eating habits, sleep changes, and basically, those “buttons” that we all have are much easier to get pushed.
How can caregivers get help?
Contact local agencies related to your loved one's condition, such as the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Dallas or Tarrant County, the American Cancer Society. Find out about senior citizen centers in your community, or look into a good Adult Day Care center so that you can get a break occasionally during the day and increase your loved one's activity level and socialization with others. You can find links to all of these organizations in our website, elderhope.com.
On a more personal note - self-care is the main priority when caregiving. You have to set boundaries and limits to what you will do - you must be able to say, No,ť or I can't,ť or I'm not available.ť You don't owe an explanation to these responses. These simply help you to have enough time and energy to do what you really need and want to do as a caregiver and a person! Lastly, insure that you set clearly defined times for things that you enjoy - on a daily or weekly basis - and be sure to ask for help from others - let them know specifically how they can help you - such as asking a neighbor to pick up a prescription or another small task. If you can try to do these things: set boundaries and realistic expectations, ask and take the help of family and friends, find out about what’s available in your community to help, and take time out for yourself, you stand a better chance of giving the care and love that you want to give to your loved one while maintaining enough energy to also enjoy all the other important aspects of your life.
(Statistics are from LivingStrategies.com
Tags: 
caregiver stress caregiving burnout
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