Image: while care-giving has many rewards it can be exhausting and is under-valued by society.
My short stay in hospital last week reminded me of the stress that care-givers, including age-care workers, are often subjected to. My ward was full of elderly patients, most of whom were destined to require ongoing care of some kind upon discharge.
When I was studying rehabilitation the need to care for the care-giver came up during just about every module. Depression, anxiety, alcoholism, medication dependency, social isolation and financial distress are common within the care-giver community.
While the care-giver is usually a wife or daughter, I'd like to include the staff of aged-care institutions in this discussion. They provide an absolutely essential service for low pay and poor conditions of employment.
Whenever I'm assisting a person with chronic ill-health issues such as dementia, I always ask the person who is with them how they are coping? I emphasise to them that one of the best things we can do to assist the ill person is to ensure that we are caring for the care-giver. This inquiry has always been welcomed with relief and never once challenged.
We must care for the Care-Giver!
I'm grateful to Fawne Hansen for writing the following article about care-giver stress. Even if you are not directly a care-giver, few of us will not be dealing with this matter at come times during our lives, either as the receivers or the providers of care - or both.
Caregiver Stress: Remembering To Take Care Of Yourself
If you wonder if you have a degree of adrenal fatigue, why not take a few minutes to complete Dr James Wilson's Adrenal Fatigue Questionnaire here:
Do the maths then email me the final scores along with any background comments you might have and I'll give a brief opinion to help you along.