Mind Your Mental Health – Understanding and Addressing Caregiver Burnout
Always approaching their responsibilities with care and compassion, caregivers make a difference in the lives of patients, residents, and their families every single day by providing vital services and support. Often, caregivers find themselves juggling too many responsibilities, leading to significant caregiver burden, which encompasses the physical, emotional, social, and financial challenges they face.
When they least expect it, caregiver burnout starts to take over, affecting their mental health and well-being. Tune in and keep reading for helpful tips and resources about caregiving burnout and strategies to ensure your caregiving journey stays on the right track.
Click to listen to this episode on caregiver burnout:
What is Caregiver Burnout?
You may have heard the term “caregiver burnout” but do you know what it means? Recognizing the signs of caregiver stress and taking immediate action is crucial to prevent the situation from worsening. According to WebMD, caregiver burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. Unpaid caregivers devote an average of 20 hours a week to providing physical, financial, and emotional support for an older loved one or friend. Though caregivers enjoy helping a loved one to age in place at home, there is a toll that is taken, resulting in stress, depression, and anxiety.
Caregivers are laser focused on providing support for a loved one and it can drain them physically, mentally, and emotionally, leading to physical exhaustion.
A staggering 40% of family caregivers in the United States believe they are suffering from caregiver burnout. Symptoms can happen over time and may include fatigue, disruptions in eating and sleeping patterns, mood swings, and neglecting their own physical and emotional needs. Recognizing the symptoms of caregiver burnout, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, is essential for seeking help and taking preventive measures.
Asking for help can be difficult for caregivers. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Understanding senior care options is powerful knowledge. Having a partner in care like CarePatrol can help lessen stress and provide the information needed to make an informed decision to support a loved one. For over 30 years, CarePatrol Senior Advisors have given families peace of mind. Reach out to learn more.
What Causes Caregiver Burnout
Many factors can lead to caregiver burnout, including:
Role reversal: The role of the caregiver can feel new and awkward, replacing the feelings of being their loved one’s child, spouse, or other family member. When an adult child becomes a caregiver, the reversal of roles can throw off the dynamic that has always existed, especially as a parent may need time to adjust to feeling like a child in the relationship.
Extreme demands: Without even realizing it, the loved one or other family members like siblings or adult children can add to the responsibilities of the caregiver, making their life even more full of tasks and worries, especially if they are the primary caregiver. Keeping family members updated, handling the scheduling of medical appointments, and planning for the future can feel like more than one person can handle.
Unrealistic expectations: With the right intentions, caregivers hope that the support they provide will have a direct impact on raising the happiness of their loved one. With patients who suffer from a progressive disease like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, this may not always happen, leading to a sense of depression in the caregiver.
Caregiver guilt: It is common for caregivers to experience feelings of guilt when they take time for themselves. This makes sense, as time for yourself becomes a time when you are not helping your loved one. However, experiencing this guilt can mean rarely or never taking time for yourself, easily leading to burnout.
Taking on everything: The primary caregiver often tries to manage every aspect of their loved one’s care and everyday life. They may not ask for help or accept help when it is offered. They also may not look into local resources or even realize there are many forms of support available.
Caregiver Burnout by the Numbers
According to the National Health and Aging Trends Study, only 23% of adults over 70 can fully carry out self-care and mobility activities. That means a large number of older people rely on their loved ones and family caregivers for support in some form or another, including:
- Transportation
- Grocery shopping
- Meal preparation
- Housework and home maintenance
- Bathing, dressing, grooming, and other forms of personal care
- Financial assistance (paying bills, etc.)
- Medical/nursing tasks
- Navigating the healthcare system
The reasons for caring for a family member are as diverse as families themselves. But with so many millions of Americans doing this work, many caregivers face significant emotional and physical challenges, leading to burnout becoming an ever-more prevalent mental health crisis. Let’s take a look at some key figures from AARP’s 2020 Caregiving in the U.S. Report:
- 41.8 million – The estimated number of unpaid caregivers supporting adults over 50
- 49 – The average age of a family caregiver
- 4.5 years – The average duration of caregiving
- 53% of caregivers felt they did not have a choice in taking on this responsibility
- 70% of caregivers reported that it was difficult to manage high emotional stress
- 57% of caregivers report clinically significant levels of stress, anxiety, or depression
Caregiver Burnout Symptoms & Signs
Burnout comes about as the result of long-term stress and strain, lasting more than a few weeks. Everyone is different, but some of the major caregiver burnout symptoms are:
- Fatigue
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Withdrawal from social activities
- Neglect of self-care
- Difficulty concentrating
- Pessimism
- Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
Among these top symptoms of caregiver burnout, you could also experience a lack of energy, sleeping too much or too little, and changes to your eating habits and your weight. You might have trouble handling everyday tasks that used to feel much simpler. It is possible for caregivers with burnout to become more controlling over their lives and unusually impatient and argumentative.
In addition to regular anxiety, you could have anxiety about the future, including what will happen to your loved one’s health and how it will impact your life and your family. Plus, it is common for family caregivers to experience stress-related physical health manifestations like headaches, soreness, or frequent sickness.
Why Does Burnout Matter for Mental and Physical Health?
Burnout has a significant impact on both caregivers and those being cared for. A BlueCross BlueShield report found that burned-out caregivers often turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, including alcohol, tobacco, and food. Because stress hormones have a physical impact on the body, they also experience a number of adverse health effects, ranging from high blood pressure to obesity to clinical depression.
You cannot pour from an empty cup—and besides affecting you, burnout also affects the people in your care. You may think you’re doing the right thing by putting everything you can into their well-being. But at a certain point, you may be putting both yourself and your loved one at risk by trying to stretch yourself too thin. Taking care of your own health is crucial to effectively caring for a loved one.
If you are experiencing caregiver burnout, consider reaching out to a mental health professional for support, diagnosis, and developing coping skills to manage the stress and well-being.
What is Compassion Fatigue?
Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress, is a condition characterized by a gradual lessening of compassion over time. This is a phenomenon commonly experienced by those who work in caregiving professions or environments where they are exposed to a high level of emotional distress and trauma.
It is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion, often accompanied by a sense of helplessness, and can occur when individuals are overwhelmed by the demands of caring for others. Here are some common signs of compassion fatigue to be aware of:
- Irritability
- Anger
- Hopelessness
- Exhaustion
- Negativity
What Can You Do?
Here are a few steps you can take to prevent or manage caregiver burnout.
Be Honest with Yourself
Recognize that you both need and deserve help. It’s important to take care of yourself while you’re taking care of others, from getting a little extra activity to a little extra rest. Regular breaks and assistance through respite care can prevent caregiver burnout.
Check for Warning Signs of Caregiver Burnout
Self-awareness and reflection help you notice and address caregiver burnout before it gets to the point of hurting yourself or others. In some cases, caregiver burnout can lead to neglecting the senior, so it is important to prevent getting to this level or to address it right away if it is happening.
As a caregiver, you are likely looking for similar signs and symptoms in your parents to determine their physical and mental well-being. So, you can look for them in yourself as well to check whether your own health and well-being are suffering.
Know That You’re Not Alone
Many other caregivers are going through very similar experiences, including experiencing caregiver guilt and burnout. These do not make you a bad person. Rather, they happen to be the best caregivers and are recognized as common problems.
Joining local caregiver support groups allows you to talk to people in similar situations to see that you are all in this together and to support each other. If you are not able to go to support groups in person, online support groups could be an option.
Give Yourself Permission to Take Breaks
This might look like getting out of the house by yourself or with friends, pampering yourself, or taking a long bath or reading break to relieve stress. It means taking good care of yourself. Go to your own doctor’s appointments, exercise, and eat well. Find other small steps that work for you, such as getting up a little early to make time for yourself or journaling about your struggles and feelings.
Look for Resources
Caregiver support services and resources are available if you look for them. For example, there are social workers, community-based services, eldercare professionals, and databases that can help. Consider caregiver respite care services that could provide a break, whether it is for a few hours or longer periods of time.
If it applies to your situation, investigate whether your employer provides family leave benefits. Taking advantage of this benefit could ease your stress as you gain extra time and energy to focus on your loved one. Other options include visiting a mental health professional and relying on a CarePatrol advisor to help you find local resources.
Reach Out for Help
Asking for help can be difficult for caregivers. But that does not have to be the case. Needing help does not make you a bad caregiver. It simply means you cannot do it alone, and it is important to recognize that no one can. Understand that it is normal to burn out as a caregiver and to need help.
Seek help from other loved ones, friends, neighbors, and professionals. In some cases, the challenge is about accepting help rather than asking for it. If people are helping or notice that you seem stressed, use these opportunities to accept their care and support, even if it is simply someone to talk to.
Delegate anything you can to other people. Is there someone who can make dinner? Can someone run an errand or do a load of laundry? If you are not good at delegating, there is no time like the present to improve!
Also, understanding senior care options is powerful knowledge. Having a partner in care like CarePatrol can help lessen stress and provide the information needed to make an informed decision to support a loved one. For over 30 years, CarePatrol Senior Advisors have given families peace of mind. Reach out to learn more.
Consider Senior Communities
Many people hesitate to think about alternative senior care arrangements, like assisted living, independent living, or memory care communities. Whether you think you can’t afford it or you aren’t sure there’s a place that can check all the right boxes, you may be surprised at what’s out there. In fact, in some situations, a senior care community is the best option for supporting your loved one’s unique medical, social, and personal care needs. Joining a support group can also help caregivers share experiences and seek advice.
Every individual situation is different, but you don’t have to go it alone. Learning how to set limits, take breaks, and care for your own needs is a complex journey. Seeking help to do that isn’t just an available option—it’s a practical, effective, and often necessary one.
Tune in for insights and resources from medical social worker, Chuck Bongiovanni.
About Chuck:
Chuck Bongiovanni is a Certified Franchise Executive and the founder of CarePatrol Franchise Systems, the largest franchised senior placement company in the nation with over 150 offices. His Social Work background made him the natural pioneer of the senior placement and referral industry for the past 27 years. In his placement agent career, he and his company placed over 100,000 seniors in assisted living and residential homes across the country.
Chuck has been a franchisor for 11 years, and under his leadership, CarePatrol received over 40 franchise industry awards, including the prestigious Franchisee Satisfaction Hall of Fame by the Franchise Business Review and INC. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Privately-Held Company in America.
He is the Past-President of The National Placement and Referral Alliance (NPRAlliance.org), the national trade association for the Referral and Placement Industry.
Show Notes
- Learn what caregiver burnout is
- Gain information about the signs of caregiver burnout
- Hear about tips for managing caregiver burnout
- Gain information on where to find support and resources throughout your caregiving journey
