Avoid Caregiver Stress

Would you be surprised to know that the biggest threat to your parent remaining at home is how well you manage your caregiver stress and mental health? You know it's true that without the support that you provide each day that your parent could not continue to live at home. If you as your parent's primary care provider can no long provide all the care you do right now, what would your parents' options be?

Caring for a parent adds complexity to your life. You add another layer of tasks to your already busy life. The emotional impact of watching your parent change and struggle is very stressful. At times caregiving opens up old, negative family issues that you've been able to avoid. The combination of caregiver stress and mental health issues may result in depression. While caregiver stress does not always lead to depression you should know the symptoms and be vigilant.

Some typical symptoms of depression If you experience some of these symptoms for more than two weeks, you should discuss them with your doctor as they can be symptoms of depression.

· Low energy
· Sleeping disturbances, sleeping more than normal or less than normal for you, waking early, experiencing insomnia
· Change in your eating habits, loss of appetite or overeating for emotional comfort
· Not being interested in your daily activities and things you enjoy
· Feeling worthless and intensely self-critical
· Problems concentrating and making decisions

The demands of your role make it hard to find any time for yourself. It's important to prioritize taking care of yourself near the top of your list. Time away from your caregiving responsibilities needs to be scheduled on your calendar just like doctor appointments and family birthday parties. Taking a break from your responsibilities is one of the most important things you can do to prevent caregiver stress and mental health issues.

Planning ahead can make arranging reliable help a bit easier. Give yourself plenty of time to ask family and friends to fill in for you, hire a caregiver or organize a respite stay for your family member at a local senior care home.

To have time for yourself on a daily basis, consider having your family member enroll in an adult day program that gets him out of house during the day or hire a caregiver to come in and give you a break.

Other ways to manage caregiver stress and mental health challenges

· Get regular, preferably daily exercise. Even something as simple as a daily walk can support your health.

· Seek emotional support from a trusted person you
can confide in about your caregiving ups and down.

· Join a support group.

· Use outside resources to help care for your parent. Delegate activities that you don't enjoy or struggle with and save your time and energy for activities that need your personal attention.

· Regularly remind yourself about your values and reasons for caring for your parent.

· Make time to spiritually nurture yourself in whatever way that is meaningful to you

· Speak your truth and ask for the help you need.

· Find ways each day to laugh.

Caregiver stress and mental health challenges will always be with us. Take the powerful position of being responsible for your own well being. You may have heard the self care metaphor that reminds you of the instructions you receive when taking an airplane flight. The flight attendant says "If oxygen is required during the flight, put on your own oxygen mask first and then assist other passengers." To honor your commitment to your family member, you need to take care of yourself first by tackling caregiver stress and mental health challenges.