What Are the Signs of Caregiver Burnout and How Do You Stop Them?

Take a look at a few facts about unpaid caregivers. First, 96 percent of them help with activities of daily living (ADLs). These tasks include help with personal hygiene, dressing, ambulation, transportation, meals, prescription reminders, and shopping. Second, almost half are also responsible for nursing tasks that they’re not prepared or trained to handle.

The average unpaid caregiver helping a parent, friend, or other family member helping about 20 days a month. About one day a month is spent researching medical symptoms and medicine interactions. A total of six days are spent helping with feeding, ambulation, dressing, toileting, and hygiene. The remaining 13 days cover housekeeping, laundry, medications, shopping, meal preparation, and transportation.

For family caregivers who also have children, jobs, and a social life, it’s tough to balance it all. That’s why many people experience caregiver burnout. The American Medical Association defines caregiver burnout as “a state of physical, emotional, and/or mental exhaustion.” It happens when caregivers do not have enough help or when they lack support.

Signs of Caregiver Burnout

Senior Care Media, PA: Caregiver Burnout

People experience burnout in different ways. These are the common signs of caregiver burnout.

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Dwindling ability to cope with daily situations
• Extreme fatigue
• Feeling hopeless and that the situation is out of control
• Lowered immunities
• Mood swings (irritability, sadness, anger, impatience)
• Physical pain ( especially headaches and stomachaches)
• Poor diet (weight loss or gain, no interest in cooking, reliance on takeout or fast food)
• Self-neglect
• Sleep issues
• Withdrawal from social activities and hobbies/interests

You may experience all of these or just a few. Some people have good and bad days. If that happens to you, it doesn’t mean you’re better. You’ll experience some ebbs and tides from day to day. You need to do two things, talk to your doctor first to make sure you’re not clinically depressed. Get help if you are. It’s also time to focus on self-care.

The Next Step to Take

During September’s National Self-Care Awareness Month, you need to focus on self-care. One of the ways to do this is by making sure you have time to tend to your own interests and needs. Senior care services can help by giving you a break. Let caregivers take over for a day or two and enjoy having free time to go out with friends, work on your favorite hobby, or have a day to yourself.

Call a senior care specialist today. The person you speak with can answer your questions, help you decided which services will help, and explain pricing.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Care in Media, PA please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.

Sources:
https://www.caregiver.org/caregiver-statistics-demographics
https://www.ama-assn.org/sites/ama-assn.org/files/corp/media-browser/public/public-health/caregiver-burnout-guide.pdf

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Perry C. Doc Alleva, Owner & Administrator

Owner & Administrator at True Direct Home Health Care

True Direct HHC owner and administrator, Perry C. Doc Alleva has been in the health care community for over 10 years as a therapy solutions provider, as well as a home care services coordinator. He has extensive experience in caring for the disabled and the surgical acute, sub-acute, and rehab population. Rooted in his home-town city of Philadelphia, with strong ties to it's vast neighborhoods and communities, he's now focusing all his energies towards innovating the home health care agency's role in providing the essential care needed from individual to the family throughout the community.

Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.

"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."

In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.

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