Are you facing physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion from caring for your elderly loved one? The guilt you feel for this isn’t out of the norm. In fact, the emotional and physical stress of caring for an elderly loved one can lead to fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Family caregiver burnout often happens when the caregiver neglects their emotional, physical, and spiritual health and becomes overwhelmed with the tasks at hand. It can also become more than you know how to handle if you lack the resources of experience to plan and manage your loved one’s care effectively. It’s important not to wait until you feel stretched too thin and become completely burned out. You may suffer to the point that you cannot function and become sick yourself.
Symptoms of caregiver burnout include:
- Social withdrawal
- Loss of interest in hobbies
- Irritability, hopelessness, and helplessness
- Changes in appetite
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Feelings of resentment towards the person for whom you are caring
- Sheer exhaustion
Where to Turn When You Need Help for Caregiver Burnout
The good news is there is help at hand, and that if you are suffering from stress and depression, those are treatable problems. Voice your concerns to an unbiased professional to get the help you need. If you want to prevent burnout, you may want to consider turning to a resource like a home care service such as Longevity Care to find a professional in-home caregiver who specializes in assessing client needs and coordinating care and services. Our caregivers can assist with daily living activities like bathing, dressing, cooking, and hygiene needs, in addition to homemaking needs and providing companionship.
Remember that you don’t have to be a hero. While it’s noble to want to help your loved one as much as you can, everybody deserves a break from time to time. That’s why Longevity Care coordinates a care plan and finding the right professional caregiver for your family, to help with their homecare needs while helping family caregivers recover from their physical and emotional burnout so they can relax into the more traditional roles of their family relationship.
Our staff would be happy to speak with you regarding your care needs. To reach Longevity Care, please call 403.800.0858 for a FREE in home consultation by a Registered Nurse.
