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A Caregiver’s Stress and How To Avoid It – Part I

10/151 Comment

A Two Part series written by Author: David Crumrine at the Caring Space

Part Two – Caregiver Stress and How to Avoid it

An organization that connects caregivers and care seekers, providing an easy and affordable resource for families seeking care for friends/loved ones and caregivers seeking employment.

Part One – Caregiver Stress and How to Avoid it

“Caring for senior citizens or disabled individuals can be difficult and often results in emotional and physical strain known as caregiver stress. This stress can cause one to feel frustrated or angry, guilty, lonely, and exhausted. And, although caregivers are generally in good health, research indicates that caregivers are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, have higher levels of stress-induced hormones, and have a higher incidence of obesity.

Still, one research study has found a difference in health between caregivers who felt stressed and those who did not. Senior citizens who felt stressed as a result of taking care of a disabled spouse were more likely to die within four years of the study than their counterparts who did not feel stressed. For reasons like this, it is important that caregivers providing elder care or care for a disabled individual understand how to avoid and cope with caregiver stress.

Symptoms

If you are a caregiver it is likely that you have caregiver stress if you experience the following symptoms:

* Altered sleeping habits
* Weight loss or gain
* Constantly feeling worried, overwhelmed, or sad
* Being irritable and easily angered
* Frequent and unexplainable headaches or other bodily pain

If you feel like physically or emotionally harming yourself or the person you are caring for, talk to your doctor immediately. He or she will be able to refer you to a health care specialist that can help.

Preventing and Alleviating Stress

Caregiver stress is associated with many serious health problems and should never be dismissed as “just stress.” Rather it is important that those providing care for senior citizens or disabled individuals take steps to reduce their stress.

Taking a problem-solving approach to caring for others helps to decrease stress. For example, if someone with Alzheimer’s continues to ask the same question again and again, answer the question but then redirect him or her. Say something like “Lets get this laundry started,” or include the person in a simple task like folding clothes.

If you are caring for someone with a certain disease or disability, be sure you understand their condition. Use your doctor, the library, or the Internet to educate yourself. Also, your hospital or doctor’s office may give classes that teach you how to take care of someone with the condition your loved one has.

Tips for Reducing Stress

* Research and use community resources that are available for both the person being cared for and the caregiver.
* Do not be afraid to ask for and accept help. Often, friends and family members are willing to provide assistance like taking the elderly or disabled person on a walk once a week or picking up groceries for you.
* Ask family members to contribute to the costs of taking care of the relative who needs help.
* Say “no” when necessary, it is important not to take on too much responsibility that can lead to additional stress.
* Identify what you are able to change and what you cannot. You cannot change another’s behavior, but you can change how you respond to it.
* Do not take on too much at once. Rather, break big tasks up into smaller steps and set realistic goals that you can stick to.
* If you begin to feel guilty, remind yourself that there is no such thing as a perfect caregiver and you are doing your best.
* Establish a daily routine and make prioritized “to do” lists.
* Stay connected with friends and family members, and make time each week to spend time with others in a capacity that is relaxing and enjoyable for you.
* Join a support group for caregivers; it can help remind you that you are not alone. Also, other caregivers can offer support and advice for how to cope with what you are going through.
* Finally, take care of yourself. Eat well-balanced meals, maintain a healthy weight, and get enough sleep. Talk with your doctor about any sickness or feelings of depression or anxiety that you may be experiencing. ”

 

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Part Two – A Caregiver’s Stress and How to Avoid it

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Filed Under: Caring for the Caregiver, The Caregiver Tagged With: caregiver, How to avoid Caregiver stress, stress

Coping with a Loved One’s Diagnosis of Dementia

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Diagnosis of dementia

For someone with dementia, receiving the initial diagnosis can be difficult. Yet, it is better to receive a diagnosis early than to suffer with little understanding as to why one is experiencing such strange changes in thinking and behavior. Likewise, the sooner a diagnosis is made, the better chance one has of treating the progression of dementia, and adjusting one’s lifestyle to moderate the effects of the disease.

Early signs and symptoms
A complicated disease with a multitude of symptoms, dementia originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain, affecting one’s ability to hear, touch, see, think, perceive, and communicate. Likewise, because a general decline in mental faculty is often accepted as a part of growing old, dementia can be tough to diagnose in its early stages, and common dementia symptoms may be explained away as a normal part of life. However, the problematic memory loss and confusion caused by dementia is often the first sign of a serious problem, and usually the reason persons seek medical evaluation.

When to call the doctor
When a person with dementia begins to display outward signs of memory and cognitive impairment, and it is clear this impairment affects his or her ability to perform basic life functions, it is usually a friend or loved one who brings the person to a medical professional for help, as persons with dementia are often unable to identify a problem.

Getting the diagnosis
As dementia progresses, the person with dementia may seem like a different person to his or her loved ones, due to severe changes in mood and behavior. Moreover, if dementia has yet to be diagnosed, these mood and behavioral changes can be frustrating for loved ones to deal with and understand. It is important for loved ones to realize these changes are a result of an underlying problem, and that the person experiencing them needs support and guidance in making sense of what is happening. To that end, getting a diagnosis is an important step for persons with dementia and their loved ones, and must be achieved before the person with dementia can be helped.

Although there is no single test for dementia, when diagnosing the disease, doctors will ask a series of questions, conduct a physical, and perform a battery of diagnostic tests to check mental and physiological function in a person experiencing symptoms that may indicate dementia. Certain problems and conditions that can cause the memory loss and confusion associated with dementia must be ruled out before a dementia diagnosis can be reached. These include medication side effects, malnutrition, alcohol abuse, diabetes, kidney or liver disease, thyroid disease, and general circulatory disorders.

Dealing with the diagnosis
If a dementia diagnosis is reached, the person with dementia may experience a wealth of emotions, ranging from sadness to anger and even relief. It is important for loved ones to be supportive at this stage, as it can be very troubling for persons with dementia to realize they are losing their ability to care for themselves. At the same time, persons with dementia and their loved ones may find the diagnosis comforting, for it represents a logical explanation to the odd changes in behavior and mood. Finally, once diagnosed, persons with dementia can adjust their lifestyles to accommodate for the changes that lie ahead and make their new lives as enjoyable as possible.

Changes in living situation and routine are normally required to ensure the safety of persons living with dementia while allowing them to remain as active and independent as possible. Some may require full-time supervision; others may require only part-time care and basic modifications to their living space to ensure easy access to common household items and restricted access to items that may be dangerous to handle, due to confusion and loss of mobility and motor control.

At first, the required changes may seem drastic. However, once these changes are made and a new routine is established, persons with dementia can live life to the fullest extent possible in a safe and supportive environment. Likewise, caregivers and loved ones can rest assured knowing everything is being done to help the person in their life living with dementia.

Author: Florence Jenkins
Florence is a freelance writer from Los Angeles with two children of her own. If you have parents suffering from dementia check out DementiaGuide.com for more information.

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Filed Under: Caring for the Caregiver, The Caregiver, What are the Signs and Symptoms Tagged With: Caregiver coping, Caregiver sadness, diagnosis of dementia, stress

Caregiver Burnout – Preventing Giving from Draining Your Energy

08/31Leave a Comment

Caregiver Burnout – Preventing Giving From Draining Your Energy

Written by: Dee Cohen
As a licensed social worker and certified yoga teacher, Dee is interested in holistic health solutions for the body and mind.

The term caretaker-burnout is usually used when referring to someone who has the responsibility of taking care of someone else who has a debilitating illness or condition and is experiencing physical or emotional problems as a result of doing this.

Many people balance careers as well as school with taking care of a loved one at home, and it can be a straining task in many different ways. Caregiver burnout can manifest in the form of insomnia, headaches, fatigue, and overall exhaustion. Even though taking care of loved ones is an important job, taking care of oneself is equally crucial. This is also true for social workers, nurses and home health aides.

There are a number of things that people can do to avoid being driven into the ground emotionally.

  • By setting aside time for yourself, you will be able to better take care of those around you.
  • Taking good care of oneself can mean doing things like practicing meditation once in a while or getting regular physical exercise.
  • Both of those things can relieve the stress and frustration that people who take care of others sometimes experience.

It is important to know some of the most common signs of this problem so you will be able to identify them and help yourself immediately.

  • Feelings of depression, loneliness, or hopelessness are fairly common with people who devote themselves entirely to taking care of a family member or someone who is close to them.  Oftentimes therapy can be of help, because you will have an outlet for your emotions. Talking to another person about what you are feeling will help.
  • When someone begins to withdraw from friends and society in general, this can be a sign that energy is depleted. Spending so much time taking care of someone else can drain you and make you lose enthusiasm. This can also lead to a decrease in regular activities that you once enjoyed. Even increased thoughts about death are common among people who start to get discouraged taking care of someone else.
  • Guilt can be part of this problem. Thinking that you don’t have the right to be frustrated or stressed may be the reason why you smile even when overwhelmed. It also causes one to become extremely irritable and react irrationally to small things.

Allowing this kind of stress to accumulate for years can result in many emotional and physical problems which can become quite serious. Ways to stay physically and emotionally healthy include making sure you have a healthy diet and keeping all of your daily priorities in order. Having a support system also helps quite a bit.

It Can Be Overwhelming Caring for Others If You Ignore Yourself

Learn more about Social Worker Burnout and Effects of Stress

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Filed Under: Caring for the Caregiver, The Caregiver Tagged With: caregiver, Caregiver Burnout, stress

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