Caregivers work under continual and high levels of stress.
They have to deal with running a household as well as the demands of caring for a loved one with a mental illness.
What does this involve?
Well, let’s first look at household pressures:
Household pressures
– handling household budget (with soaring inflation)
– ensuring the house is clean and tidy
– lack of help from other adults with household tasks
– balancing work-home demands
– settling arguments and fights
PLUS
Caregiver pressures
– dealing with disruptive behaviour
– ensuring medication taken in correct dose and at specified times
– handling personal hygiene issues
– demands of constant care
– feeling isolated and little time alone
With pressure like this in a household, how do caregivers cope?
What can they do to ease the burden of caring?
Let’s look at what caregivers can do.
Do caregivers need help?
– need to learn about the illness
– sharing experiences with others confidentially
– emotional involvement increases stress
– need outlet for pain, anger and sadness
– facing crises and uncertainty about problems
Caring for a loved one with a mental illness is very challenging.
Caregivers need various kinds of assistance, including practical support to deal with caring for the ill person and themselves.
