Being a caregiver is hard. It’s emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting. There are a lot of ways stress can sneak up on you. If you or someone you know is a caregiver, look for these 9 signs of caregiver stress.
9 Signs of Caregiver Stress
It can be particularly hard if you are caring for someone who has cognitive impairments. You’ll find yourself repeating yourself often, getting frustrated, and wanting to snap. It’s hard to remind yourself that they aren’t doing this on purpose.
No matter what type of caregiving you do, it’s good to be aware of these signs.
1. Exhaustion
If you are always feeling tired, even after sleeping, then you have a problem. Another part of exhaustion is not being able to do basic daily tasks. If you find that getting up in the morning, making a meal, or showering takes too much energy, you could be suffering from exhaustion.
2. Change in Sleeping and Eating Patterns
Sleeping and eating are key functions that your body needs to survive. Stress can cause a change in your eating and sleeping patterns. If you notice that you are either sleeping or eating too much or not enough, that’s an obvious sign of stress.
3. Anger or Irritation
When you’re stressed out, your fuse gets shorter. If you notice you’re snapping more lately or even fully losing your temper, it could be due stress. Especially if it’s at your loved ones. This is because you are so run down and stretched thin that every little things seems to be an annoyance.
4. Anxiety
It’s easy to cross the line from worry into anxiety. If you start to obsess over every little concern or worry, then you are now in the anxiety arena. No worry should make you feel like you are stuck in place with no options. That’s the difference between worry and anxiety.
5. Depression
If you are feeling overwhelmingly sad, hopeless, and are crying all the time, then you may be suffering from depression. This can get bad enough that it interferes with your daily life.
6. Lack of Concentration
There’s a problem if you aren’t able to focus on anything and have a hard time finishing tasks. Things become overwhelming very quickly and you start to forget things.
7. Social Withdrawal
This when you don’t go out with friends and family anymore. You’d rather stay home and be alone. You eventually isolate yourself to the point of not leaving your house for days on end.
8. Denial
This is when you refuse to believe that your loved one is reaching the end of their life. You think things will be better, as if it’s getting over the Flu.
You may not even believe there’s a problem. This can cause you to not take the proper steps to care for your loved ones.
9. Health Problems
Stress wears your body out and makes it easier for you to get sick. If you can’t remember the last time you felt good, you should go to the doctor.
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