Caregiver burnout is caused by too much long-term stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and can’t meet the constant demands of caregiving. As the stress continues to mount, caregivers begin to lose the interest and motivation that led them to care for their loved one in the first place. The primary reasons caregivers fall victim to caregiver burnout is a routine failure to take time for themselves. With dedicated care consuming every waking minute. and often interrupting those minutes reserved for sleep, there simply isn't time for anything else.
The lack of sleep, frustration, stress, anxiety, and, oftentimes, the realization that things aren't getting any better, lead to emotional and psychological challenges that impact a caregiver's physical …show more content…
Further, if you are experiencing the symptoms on this list, they are only going to get worse if they are ignored.
The good news is that there are ways to avoid caregiver burnout. The first step, if keeping your loved one in the comfort or their own home is important, is considering the assistance of a home health aid.
A home health aid does not take the place of family. They can do as little or as much as is needed to help your senior loved one, while allowing the caregiver to address their own safety and well-being. Some of the supports a home health aid provide are light housekeeping, laundry, cooking, shopping, running errands, personal care (bathing, grooming, dressing), toileting, incontinence care, transportation, etc. Professional home health aid companies, like Comfort Keepers, also offer specialized services for seniors requiring transition assistance from hospital to home or for very difficult situations such as dementia or Alzheimer's