an article of Maria Dolores Villegas DiazPsychologist and blog author
The life of a caregiver changes radically as a result of the required demand. This demand/responsibility produces a great change in their way and quality of life. He Burnout It is a syndrome caused by chronic stress that occurs on a day-to-day basis when facing the illness of the person being cared for and that implies monotonous and repetitive tasksproducing in the caregiver a feeling of lack of control, and being able to exhaust the psychophysical reserves of the person.
Is more common in informal caregiversthat is, in the family caregivers, since, among other influential factors, they have less training on how to provide care, on the disease, etc.
That symptoms we can find?
- – Negative attitudes and feelings towards the sick person being cared for.
- – Demotivation.
- – Frustration.
- – Depression/low mood.
- – Psychosomatic disorders such as: anguish, allergies, skin conditions, headaches, low back pain, gastric and intestinal disorders…
- – Fatigue and exhaustion.
- – Irritability and frequent mood swings.
- – Depersonalization and dehumanization.
- – Stereotyped behaviors and inefficiency when solving problems.
- – Continued overwhelmed feeling that the situation overwhelms you.
It affects various areas, reaching the point of influencing the work stress, affective, personal inadequacy (fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, anxiety), and even personal emptiness once the person is no longer cared for, either because they enter a residence or because of their death. This void can last up to a few years after care ends.
The caregiver perceives that their care activities disturb their psychophysical healththeir economic situation (costs of care such as adaptation of the home, loss of income when leaving work…) and social.
From this care can also be derived family problems such as reproaches for not helping the main caregiver, because the caregiver spends more time with the person who needs care than with the rest of the family, etc.
For prevent Burnout or caregiver syndrome or overcome it, caregivers must remember that they are an essential part of care, and, for this reason, they must attend to their own needs. By taking care of yourself, you take better care of your family member. A rested caregiver, with emotional support, leisure, satisfied… will have more energy and will better use their physical and psychological resources to better care for the dependent person.
Does it affect all caregivers equally? No. People with low resilience (ability to successfully overcome adverse situations) seem suffer further exhaustion and attitudes of indifference in their activity, which makes them more prone to developing this syndrome. People with a selfconceptnegative and with low perception of their self-efficacyInter alia.
That guidelines Can the caretaker follow?
- SELF CARE
- – Ask for help, resort to associations where we have the support professionals and other people who are going through the same situation as us (participate in mutual aid groups).
- – Follow one balance diet.
- – Do exercise, either alone, with friends or even with the person being cared for.
- – Be assertive Knowing how to say “no” and learning to stop giving in to the person being cared for.
- – give autonomy to the person cared for, to do everything they can do for themselves.
- – Rest. Take a few hours a day for yourself. You can resort to family respitein which caregivers stop being caregivers for a few days to take care of themselves, either to stay at home or to take a trip with friends or other caregivers and it is someone else who take care of the sick person.
It must not be forgotten that care does not have to generate negative feelings; a person can feel satisfaction in their task of caring for another personachieve a greater connection and complicity with that person, recognition of their work, etc.
In conclusion, Taking care of yourself requires the same effort as taking care of a dependent person.