How Caregiver Stress Affects an Older Adult’s Wellbeing
Being a caregiver can be a challenging job, and those who are overworked can end up facing a great deal of stress. Excessive stress can harm a caregiver’s physical and mental health. It’s important for caregivers to take breaks and manage their own stress levels because their stress could end up affecting their actions as caregivers. Caregiver stress can negatively influence a senior loved one’s wellbeing in the following ways.
Reduced Emotional Support
Most stressed caregivers don’t have the time and patience to quietly sit and chat with their loved ones. For seniors who spend a lot of time at home, their caregivers may provide one of the only ways to get social interaction each day. When you only have the energy to discuss practical matters, your loved one may end up feeling isolated and lonely. Since seniors have a high risk of developing depression, the inability to socialize could be unhealthy for your loved one.
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Less Effective Care
Stress can make it difficult to concentrate because of constantly feeling overwhelmed and worn out. This lack of focus caused by stress can greatly impact a caregiver’s ability to perform his or her normal duties. Caregivers who are stressed out and tired may forget important things like medications, doctor appointments, or bills that need to be taken care of, which could end up leading to accidental lapses in care. When you’re stressed and feeling depressed, you may even have difficulty handling routine tasks like making sure your loved one has daily meals.
Family caregivers can prevent stress by taking a break from their caregiving duties. When researching agencies that provide senior care, Dallas, TX, families are usually looking for flexible care plans, compassionate and highly trained caregivers, and 24/7 availability. Whether you need respite care to take a break from your caregiving duties or your senior loved one needs around-the-clock assistance at home, you can rely on Home Care Assistance.
More Tension in the Household
Many people find stress shows up as grumpiness and irritability. When you spend all day with your loved one, the stress may cause you to lash out, which could lead to situations and arguments that make your loved one’s daily life tense and unpleasant. Constantly being in a tense environment could increase your parent’s stress levels and make arguments and bickering worse. Being able to maintain a loving and supportive relationship with your loved one can become quite challenging if you’re always stressed.
Longer Response Times
A caregiver who is stressed won’t have the ability to pay attention to the small changes in his or her loved one’s wellbeing. For instance, you may not immediately notice things like weight loss or a reduced ability to sleep that could signify your loved one requires medical assistance. Even if you do notice the issue, your stress might leave you feeling too busy to immediately address it. When it takes longer to respond to your loved one’s needs, relatively minor problems may end up causing more concerning health issues.
Family caregivers need to care for their own wellbeing. If you’re caring for an aging loved one and are feeling overwhelmed, consider hiring a professional caregiver to provide respite care. Dallas families who want to prevent burnout can turn to Home Care Assistance. One of our professional caregivers can assist your loved one at home while you take a nap, go to work, run errands, or go on vacation. To talk to one of our friendly Care Managers about our customized care plans, call us at [hca_phone] today.