Caregiving Chronic Stress: A Case Study

My friend is a caregiver for her husband 24-7 for the past couple of years, and both are 65 yrs old. They both still smoke cigarettes which help relieve stress (less healthy ways than the general public). She says, "I feel constant stress when my husband has surgery or frequent doctor appointments." They both have nutritious meals daily as her husband has diabetes.

Caregiving chronic stress can lead to depression (mental illness) which can cause cancer, heart disease and can influence cardiovascular, immune and endocrine functions. Stress affects cognitive memory showing that stressors one day predict memory failures on the next day for continuous memory failure. Seniors greatest fear is memory loss, and a constant stressor of worry will inevitably cause a self-fulling prophesy. If you believe you have a poor memory, you will continue to believe you do ( what you think you become negative or positive thinking). Caregivers have an inadequate response to vaccines such as flu and pneumonia vaccinations and have a higher death rate due to flu and pneumonia.
Any exercise on a regular basis can improve mental and physical health. Memory training can improve cognitive functioning such as memory, reasoning, and speed, and exercises.

For my self-care, I continue to be open-minded, compromise when a conflict occurs and express my feelings openly which prevents worry which leads to stress. When I feel stress, I still have a puff of an e-cigarette which is a step in the right direction to quitting instead of a real cigarette. Need to eat more omega 3 (tuna or salmon) to improve memory