Dealing With Burnout As A Carer
Caring for a loved one can be one of the most enriching experiences that life has to offer, but it can also be one of the most demanding. Carer stress and burnout are not always easy to identify, and they carry their own health risks, so here are some tips for identifying the problem and dealing with it. After all, if you don’t take care of yourself, it can severely impair your ability to care for someone else.
Are you becoming increasingly withdrawn from the company of family and friends due to your carer commitments? Are you overreacting to minor annoyances or showing irritation and impatience with the person you’re caring for? Do you feel constantly exhausted? Do you have trouble relaxing or sleeping? Have your eating patterns altered? Have you begun to rely on drugs or alcohol? Do you seem to catch every bug that’s going around? Do you feel like a failure if you’re unable to meet all of your loved one’s care needs?
These symptoms can have a variety of causes, but they can also be tell-tale signs that you are suffering from carer burnout. If that’s the case, you need to start caring for yourself, too.
Don’t try to shoulder the burden all alone and assume that your family and friends know what you’re going through. Speak up and tell them how you feel, or join a support group consisting of people in a similar position to your own. You’ll find that just talking about your problems will help to put them in perspective.
Share the responsibility. Get other family members to help out with some of your day-to-day tasks. The chances are that they will be only too glad to do so. In fact, if anyone offers assistance, just say ‘yes’. There’s nothing to be gained by being too proud or stubborn to accept help.
Ensure you maintain a healthy diet, take some form of daily exercise and get plenty of sleep. Also, set aside some time for yourself. You need to recharge your batteries by doing the things that give you pleasure. It may just be enjoying a long walk, sitting down for a read, or pampering yourself by taking a long soak in the bath, but some me-time will make all the difference. Don’t feel guilty about this. It’s not a luxury, but a necessity, and a timely reminder that there is a life outside of the wonderful work you are doing.
If you do feel that you need some support then then there are resources online, such as a domiciliary and home care agencies directory available on various on UK Care Guide. The directory can be used to search for support in your local area, but if you are not comfortable using an agency, you can also look at employing your own carer.
If you do decide that you want to bring in some external help then one of the key issues that you will need to think through is who is paying for care. Again, the UK Care Guide is one website which can help, with advice on care funding options and then finding a specialist to support you should you feel that you need some help.
