Did you know that there are over 40 million unpaid caregivers of aging adults in the United States? That’s according to the Pew Research Center. Most family caregivers are adult children that are taking care of a parent or other relative. The duties of a caregiver range from assisting with housework and being a companion to full medical and physical care. Because most family caregivers are between the ages of 45 and 65, they are often busy with their own spouse and children, as well as their job. This can lead to lots of stress and burnout. If you are a family caregiver that assists an elderly parent or relative, you need to know where you can find support before you start to have physical and mental stress.
Why Does Caregiving Cause Stress?
The first thing to know about being a family caregiver is that you are dealing with a lot of responsibility. Not only do you have your everyday adult issues and problems to deal with, you have to focus on your elderly relative. Since seniors have more health issues that prevent them from being totally independent, they need a lot of help. Sometimes even their basic hygiene and grooming can’t be done without assistance.
Unfortunately, it may be hard to get help from others, or your aging parent stubbornly refuses to allow help from another source. You may not realize all the stress you are picking up from your caregiving duties. Too many caregivers continue on alone, and then experience burnout. If you have an abundance of stress, you won’t be able to provide quality care for your elderly parent. That’s why it is important for family caregivers to know where they can turn for support.
Sources for Support for Family Caregivers
There are two kinds of support that family caregivers need to avoid burnout—physical support and emotional or mental support. For physical support, caregivers need to take advantage of community programs that focus on seniors and give caregivers a break. This could be the local senior center, community center or a county health department’s senior services division. If your elderly parent suffers from a particular disability or illness, there may also be resources associated with organizations dedicated to helping out. Hiring a home care agency allows you to have someone else take some of the physical care tasks away from you. Home care assistants can come daily or just a few times per week to do cleaning, meals, grooming, hygiene, transportation and more.
Emotional support is also important because when family caregivers don’t have an outlet for conversation or even just to vent, it can greatly push stress levels up. Many family caregivers talk to other family members, friends, religious leaders, therapists, social workers or community support groups.
The good news is that, according to the Pew Research Center, most family caregivers that care for their aging relatives don’t find it too stressful. Nearly one third of caregivers, around 32 percent, report that it is stressful to provide financial and physical support to their relatives. The more support these family caregivers have, the better of they and their aging relatives will be in the long run.
Source:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/11/18/5-facts-about-family-caregivers/
IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED-ONE ARE CONSIDERING IN-HOME CARE IN WESTERN SPRINGS, IL, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT BRIGHTSTAR CARE OF LA GRANGE. CALL TODAY 708-551-2500.