No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to avoid feeling stressed in your caregiver role, particularly when your loved one is suffering from a debilitating chronic condition such as Alzheimer’s disease. The constant diligence in your role is commendable but it is important that you understand how to manage your stress to avoid burnout and depression.
Understanding Stress
Stress is the response to changes in your life (such as caregiving) in which your body is required to respond. Not all stress is a bad thing as it could be the only thing keeping your reflexes sharp and focused in a dangerous situation. It sometimes keeps your mental synapses firing full cylinder too. However, when you internalize stress it becomes a problem and can affect you physiologically.
You have control over your body to a certain point before those involuntary muscles take over, so you have to do what it takes to minimize stress. By recognizing the signs, you can address them individually. Here are some examples:
1. Sadness and Anger
2. Unproductiveness and lack of concentration
3. Over-worrying, acting impulsively, overreacting to a situation and isolation from loved ones and friends
4. Mood swings can run high and low (typically a sign of depression) and sleep does not come easily or restfully.
5. Physical symptoms of stress could be headaches and chronic pain in the muscles and joints; insomnia or excessive sleeping
6. Overeating to provide comfort or not eating due to a nervous stomach or even the use of drugs and alcohol to numb stress
Reducing the Stress
While caregiving can wear your down, there are many rewards such as spending quality time with a loved one. However, you need to get past some of the stress of caregiving to truly appreciate what you have. Here are some helpful hints to accomplish that:
1. Exercise several times a week, even if it is just a walk around the block. Exercise gets your blood pumping and it releases endorphins, a substance in the body which gives you a natural high.
2. Ban addictive items from your life such as drugs, tobacco and alcohol. Even caffeine should be limited too. By keeping your body healthy, this helps keeps some stress at bay. Plus, these things only mask stress, not get rid of it.
3. Always maintain an upbeat attitude, even when you do not feel like it. Stress can weigh you down emotionally, physically and mentally so if you are always upbeat, that attitude can eventually rub off thereby reducing stress.
4. Employ coping mechanisms to channel that stress. Deep breathing exercises seem to help calm nerves and imagery is quite popular. Massage is a favorite way to banish stress and biofeedback has its share of proponents.
5. Purposely changing your routine can shake things up a bit so your stress will be too busy in hiding to wreck your wellbeing. Voice your opinion when you are normally quiet. Sometimes doing the opposite of what you normally would do can be a great stress reliever.
6. Eat a healthy diet with plenty of vitamins and minerals. Taking care of yourself will not only reduce your stress but also help you live longer so your own kids have the opportunity to care for you too!
7. Talking is a great stress buster. Giving voice to your frustrations definitely helps and the best audience is family members, friends, your minister or even online friends in support groups.
There are plenty of things you can do to relieve stress beyond what is listed. As a caregiver, it is your duty to provide treatment and love to your ailing parent or other family member. Just do not lose sight on having fun and giving yourself a break every once in a while.
For a wealth of information about caregiving, check out “The Truth About Caregiving” here.
