Caregivers for seniors, especially those who do it full-time and have to take care of seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s, are easy targets for stress, burnout, and other mental health problems such as anxiety or depression. This is due to the tremendous amount of physical effort required of them to take good care of their beloved, even in the early stages of the diseases.

To effectively reduce the amount of stress you must first know the level of stress you are experiencing. This can be done by analyzing your own emotional & physical symptoms or changes that have occurred since you started caring for your seniors. Here is a short list you can use to identify whether you’re bound for burnout.

A Short Temper

One of the most obvious signs of caregiver stress is losing your temper easily. Your level of frustration may particularly increase when you encounter obstacles or challenges, whether major or minor. Reflect by yourself or enlist the help of your partner or other loved one to check if you tend to lose your temper more easily lately, or feeling angry with your parent, or feel irritable toward other family members or find yourself snapping at them unintentionally.

Emotional Outbursts

It’s not unusual to grieve as your parent’s condition declines. It’s also normal to experience a complicated range of emotions about having to parent your parent. However, if you’re increasingly emotional (to the point that you can’t control) or feeling emotionally fragile, there might be something else going on.

The stress & emotions you experience on a daily basis can trigger depression, which can take a toll on your own wellbeing & your ability to care for your loved one. Even if you’re not clinically depressed, emotional outburst can be an unconscious outlet for feelings of being overwhelmed. Do you find yourself:

Cry often or unexpectedly?
Experience feelings of despair?
Experience dramatic mood swings?

If you say yes to any of the above, you should visit a psychiatrist to make sure that you are not suffering from caregiver depression.

Sleep Problems

Sleep problems can be linked to stress, anxiety, and depression. Plus, when your parent suffer from sundowning, wanders, or has disrupted sleep, you will also lose opportunities to rest on top of the tiring work you do all day.

Have you found yourself having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep lately? Or do you wake up tired even after a good rest? If you answer “yes” to any of that, chances are you’re suffering from caregiver stress.

Significant Weight Change

Have you recently gained or lost a lot of weight? For some people, stress can result in weight loss as they can’t seem to find time to eat adequately or nutritiously. Moreover, anxiety often lowers the appetite as well.

Feeling stressed or guilty can also lead to weight gain from mindless or emotionally-triggered eating, frequent snacking, or quick but unhealthy meal choices.

If your weight has changed by more than 2 or 4 kg since you began caring for your parent, it’s possible that your body is sending you a signal that you need help.

No dementia or Alzheimer’s caregiver should, and have to, walk alone in the caregiving process. If you need assistance and support, know that plenty of forms of help are available, especially from us at Home Instead Senior Care Outer East. Contact one of our friendly office staff at (03) 9754 4861 to know more about our services & the options available for your seniors.

Thanks for reading through this Blog, I hope you have found it useful. If you require any further assistance please feel free to contact the office.

Kind regards,

Suzanne McLoughlin
Owner of Home Instead Senior Care Outer East

P.S. We provide free Care Consultations and resource guides to support and guide families. Download your free copies from our Aged Care Resources page or Request a Free Information Pack to receive a hard copy.