Personal Care at Home – Five Signs of Caregiver Stress
November is National Caregiver Month. What you do is important and this month is meant to take a bit of time off of your caregiving and place it back onto you. For many caregivers, they are doing it alone. They don’t have the family support to help them care for their aging parent and it can become quite stressful even while being one of the best things they’ve ever done.
If you are one of those caregivers who is providing the majority of the caregiving for your elderly loved one, looking for professional help might be a good option. You can hire a professional who will provide personal care at home for your loved one so that you can take some time for yourself. A personal care at home provider can help with meals, household chores, helping your loved one bathe, and so much more.
If you’re wondering if you need a personal care at home aide, one way to do that is to check your stress levels. If you are feeling constantly stressed and overwhelmed by your duties as a caregiver (and all of your non-caregiving responsibilities as well), you might notice that stress showing up in other ways in your life. Here are five ways stress can show up for a caregiver.
- Missing important appointments or events. Are you so busy juggling your loved one’s calendar that you forget about your own? Missing important medical appointments puts your health at risk.
- Being plagued by frequent headaches, stomach issues, or back pain. Stress can move around the body and then the body cries out in pain or discomfort seeking relief. While you can band-aid the symptoms, reducing your stress levels will provide long-term relief.
- Feeling overwhelmed and burdened. The hard thing about either of these emotions is that they are often a taboo subject when caring for someone. Finding resources to talk to honestly about your journey is important to your mental health and how well you can care for your loved one.
- Having emotions that constantly take away your joy. All caregivers feel sad, get frustrated, are angry, and quite frankly, deal with all spectrums on the emotional scale. But if you find yourself stuck in an emotion that you can’t escape – such as anger, depression, or anxiety, your mental health may be at stake and need some immediate attention. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health.
- Managing the stress with addictive behaviors. It can be hard to manage all of the stress and some caregivers may find themselves turning to alcohol, drugs, or other addictive behaviors to find relief from the daily pressure caregiving can create.
For each caregiver, finding the best way to manage their stress will be an important part of how they not only care for themselves but for their loved ones because when you’re not feeling your best, you cannot give your best. Take care of yourself so you can take care of your loved one.
If you or an aging loved one are considering personal care at home in Des Plaines, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.
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