Caring For The Caregiver

Caring For The Caregiver

How common is emotional burnout in family caregivers?

Emotional burnout for family caregivers is unfortunately one of the very common aspects of taking care of an older parent. We find that the amount of depression, the amount of stress, the impact on the immune system, health issues, are huge for people that are taking care of older parents. We're just starting to understand how severe that is, not only on the cost for the person taking care of their older parents, but their families that are involved, and their employers as well.

What are the most common mistakes a family caregiver makes?

Probably the most common mistake that a family caregiver makes is doing it themselves. Most people don't like to ask for help, and what ends up happening, they resent the older parent, they're fighting with them, and they're not getting the chance to be the son and daughter that they were, so that once wonderful relationship is now replaced by doing the work that the parents are often time embarrassed. Who wants a daughter changing her father, her mothers diaper or those kinds of thing? So it can be humiliating, it can break down the relationship with the older adult, as well as the rest of the family that are impacted by having that member of their family not available for them.