Caregiver Burnout: What it is and What You Can Do About It

Caring for loved ones requires a big physical, mental, and emotional investment. But what happens when a caregiver gets overwhelmed?

If you are a caregiver who is experiencing fatigue, anxiety, and even depression, you may be experiencing caregiver burnout. This is important to recognize and address. The saying “you must put on your own oxygen mask before you can help someone else” definitely applies here!

What is Caregiver Burnout?

Juggling everyday responsibilities can be a challenge today. For those of us involved in supporting someone with care needs, there are many extra responsibilities. Eventually, caregivers may become physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. This is called “caregiver burnout.”

Caregivers who find themselves in a state of burnout may notice the following signs and symptoms:

Extreme fatigue
Trouble sleeping (either too much or not enough)
Anxiety
Depression
Feeling hopeless or helpless
Physical complaints like headaches, upset stomach, and muscle spasms
Irritation and impatience with the person you are caring for and/or others
A change from positive feelings to mostly negative feelings
Trouble coping with everyday stress
Guilt about negative feelings or your abilities
Eating too much or too little
Becoming sick more often
Losing interest in things you once enjoyed

These are more common problems than many people realize. In fact, 38% of family caregivers reported their situation as “highly stressful,” and 40%-70% of family caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression. And 17-35% of family caregivers say their health is poor to fair. 1

What Causes Caregiver Burnout?

There are many things that can lead to caregiver burnout. You may personally recognize some of these:

High Burden of Care

The more seriously ill a person is, the more care needs they have. From activities of daily living such as bathing and using the bathroom, to trying to prevent falls and possibly even feeding a loved one, caregiving activities can quickly become a 24/7 responsibility.

Financial Concerns

Like everyone else, caregivers have bills to pay, and possibly a job schedule to meet. And the person needing care may also need financial support. In fact, one survey found that 36 percent of the caregivers of adults older than the age of 50 reported moderate to high levels of financial strain. 2

Conflicting Demands

Caregivers are often not just caring for one person. They may be trying to meet the needs of their spouse, children, boss, and even friends or neighbors. They can feel pulled in many directions at once, unable to prioritize everyone at the same time and falling short of meeting all the demands they are trying to balance.

Unrealistic Expectations

It is very common for caregivers to want to “fix” all the problems their loved one is having. It is hard to watch someone you love struggle, and get sick. But pouring physical, emotional, and mental energy into caregiving does not solve the situation, and in fact families must often helplessly watch as things slowly get worse.

Lack of Knowledge

As a caregiver, you are suddenly tasked with being the expert on all the care needs your loved one might have. But do you know how to help them make it safely from the bed to the bathroom? What do you do about memory problems and wandering? When should you call the doctor? What equipment do you need? Just figuring out all these unknowns can be stressful, and new problems to solve can turn up all the time.

Social isolation

Caregiving is a big commitment. Time away for leisure and friendships outside of the home and care needs can be hard to arrange. And many caregivers have found this has been worsened by concerns about COVID-19 and trying to protect aging, ill, or frail family members from exposure to the virus.

So How Can You Fix Caregiver Burnout?

As you can see, if you are experiencing caregiver burnout, you are not alone in the experiences that have brought you to a point of exhaustion and overwhelm. The good news is, there are ways you can combat these problems and restore some balance to your life. Here are some key ways to reverse caregiver burnout:

Save Time for Self Care

This is easier said than done, but important. Making time for small things that you enjoy, like a few minutes a day for a hobby like reading, or watching a favorite TV program, can help give back some independence in your life. Paying attention to your health is part of this, too. If you’re having trouble sleeping, for example, talk to your doctor. They may be able to help. Regular exams to prevent any health problems from going untreated will keep you healthier longer, too.

Join a Support Group

Knowing you aren’t alone and talking to others who are going through similar experiences can help in more than one way. This can help reduce the feelings of isolation that caregiving can create, and it can offer practical solutions and grow your knowledge as group members share what they’ve learned while providing care.

Set Realistic Goals

Consider that even with the very best of care, your loved one may still struggle, and may have a decline in health. This is not a result of poor caregiving on your part. You have limits to what you are able to do, and it’s healthy to stick with them. For example, manage day-to-day caregiving load by being ok with sometimes having a simpler meal than you planned, or saying no to taking on another obligation.

Say Yes to Help

It’s common for caregivers to be the last people to say they need help. Sometimes this is even when people are volunteering to help! If a friend or neighbor offers a hand, take them up on it. Use grocery delivery instead of shopping. Consider using a paid home care service to shoulder part of the daily load.

Use Respite Care

A break for even a few hours can make a huge difference for a caregiver. Respite care provides a temporary fill-in caregiver, sometimes for regularly scheduled breaks, or intermittently for a longer period of time. Using this time for self-care activities, or to take a vacation, is a chance to recharge and reduce stress.

Reducing Stress is Possible

As you can see, recognizing and improving caregiver burnout is important to quality of life. Following the tips here can relieve some of the stress involved in caring for your loved one. For example, monthly respite care along with some help from friends and family means less caregiving tasks for you to take on by yourself. Paired with a support group as an outlet for your worries, all of this can have a big impact on how you are feeling.

If you’re ready to take the next step and work with a home care service for regular or respite care, Caresify can support you with professional caregivers that will work together with you to create a custom plan of care and reduce the burden of caregiving even more. Visit our homepage to learn more about us, or contact us at 888-799-5007.

References

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