Dealing with Caregiver Stress During the Holiday Season
The holiday season can be stressful for everyone, but for Ohio's 1.3 million caregivers, the addition of family gatherings, gift giving and holiday cooking to their already full schedule of caregiving can be overwhelming. Caring for a loved one can be a rich and rewarding experience, but, in an effort to provide the best possible care for a family member or friend, while also making all the holiday preparations, caregivers often sacrifice their own physical and emotional needs.
Daily demands take a toll on caregivers. Between 40 and 70 percent of caregivers show clinically significant symptoms of depression, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. The signs of caregiver stress mimic the symptoms of depression: sleeping problems; weight gain or loss; feeling tired most of the time; loss of interest in activities; becoming easily irritated, angered or saddened or frequent physical problems like headaches or stomach aches. All of these symptoms can be increased with the added stress of the holidays.
Some tips to help caregivers minimize the stress that can come with the season:
- Start new traditions or try a creative approach to an old tradition. Instead of cooking a holiday meal for a houseful of family and friends, suggest a potluck with everyone contributing.
- If gift-buying is a must, use non-traditional methods, such as ordering from catalogs or the Internet and avoid the checkout lines and traffic.
- Get plenty of rest and exercise.
- Do what you can. No one can expect more than that.
- Expect the unexpected and be prepared.
- Ask for, and accept, help from others.
Caregivers often are unaware of the availability of supportive services. As many as one in four has unmet needs, only nine percent used respite services and only 11 percent participated in support groups, according to the Alzheimer's Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving.
Use of caregiver support services has been shown to have clinically significant outcomes in improving caregiver depression, anxiety and anger. Specific caregiver interventions that appear to be most beneficial include those that work with both the caregiver and the care recipient, those that emphasize behavioral skills training, and those that are both multi-component and tailored to caregivers' specific needs.
Area agencies on aging and service providers help caregivers access supportive services, provide individual counseling, facilitate support groups and caregiver training, organize respite care for temporary relief from caregiving responsibilities and more. Call your area agency on aging at 1-866-243-5678 to discover caregiver supports and resources in your community.
Caregivers need to be encouraged to give themselves the gift of taking care of themselves. It is one of the most important - and one of the most often forgotten - things any caregiver can do.
