#caregiver stress

[magicalblerdpenn]

It has been incredibly painful to have been a parent caregiver for a whole decade, from ages 22-32, and have absolutely no support with the exception of certain family members. It's especially painful because my Vietnamese mom cannot understand my emotional needs and often exacerbates my mental health issues, but cannot live by herself because of her health problems.

From ages 22-24, I was navigating college, grief (lost my dad unexpectedly before my 3rd year of college), my repressed orientation, and being a caregiver before I even knew what being a caregiver was.

From age 25 until now, I have been dealing with freelancing, trying to live my dream as a poet and author, mental health issues, navigating my different aspects of my identity (race, orientation, gender identity), and being a caregiver.

The last three years have been even more difficult due to the ongoing pandemic & other world on fire stuff, especially since I live in the United States.

The United States has such a backwards view of what adulthood should be like that they can't provide adequate support for young caregivers like myself, especially caregivers of color (I'm Black-Asian). I've been put down for living with my parent past my early twenties in an online caregiver support group, despite the fact that I need to do so to take care of my mom. I've been told that by my state that I would have to give up my freelance writing career to receive any financial support, because people think you can't freelance and be a caregiver at the same time. My freelance career has been integral to my writing dream and I've managed it for 8 years.

I'm a young caregiver of color, I'm very tired, and desperately need something to change ASAP.

#penn's random thoughts #caregiver burnout #caregiver stress #family caregiver #caregiver support

[rainyfestivalsweets]

Did much better with tracking yesterday.

I got super stressed out this morning. Like, so stressed I was nearly in tears and the cat following me around & meowing nearly drove me bat shit crazy.

So... this is an anxiety attack comfort meal. Creamy but lower calories. Everything tracked.

May today get better and better.

Breathe. Just breathe.

Box breathing Ftw.

#anxiety #caregiver #caregiver support #caregiver stress #healthy lifestyle #getting healthy #losing weight #healthy eating #fitblr #healthy habits #operation lose this gut #weight loss #operationlosethisgut #weight loss journey #comfort meal #comfort food #low calorie #low carb low calorie #low cal meal #low calorie meals #my meals #home cooking #home cooked meal #mealspo #healthy meal #low carb meals #quick meals #meals #meal #delicious food

[zen-and-the-art-of-caregiving]

It's a thing I have to remind myself of, again and again. People in moderate and severe stages of dementia often are unable to engage in conversations about respect or political correctness. Even if they are, they’ll likely forget the discussion shortly afterward. Instead, the best option is to quickly end their abrasive comments through acknowledgment and redirection. Reasoning with your care recipient or teaching them the error of their thinking is flat-out impossible.

A proactive way for caregivers to avoid conflict in public is to carry a card that says "My companion has dementia. Please be patient. Thank You!" Silently sliding one of these across the counter to a receptionist or server can be a great way to get ahead of potentially stressful interactions.

#dementia #caregivers #caregiver support #caregiver stress

[wellhealthhub]

Caregiver Guide: Ensuring Loving Care for Those Close to Your Heart

Embark on a journey to enhance your caregiving skills, tackling challenges, adopting self-care regimes, and perfecting communication. Unveil safety protocols, emotional support techniques, and useful resources. Understand legal aspects and burnout prevention tips. Stepping into the role of a caregiver means immersing oneself in a universe of compassion, offering care to those who hold a dear…

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#advocacy for caregivers #caregiver burnout #caregiver education #caregiver organizations #caregiver resources #caregiver stress #caregiver support #caregiver support groups #caregiver training #caregiver well-being #caregiving #caregiving challenges #caregiving responsibilities #caregiving tips #communication in caregiving #elder care #end-of-life care #family caregiver #financial resources for caregivers #grief and loss #legal considerations for caregivers #respite care #self-care for caregivers #senior care

[stacys-mom-has-got-it-goin-on]

"If something's not working, or it's ending up hurting you, or it's toxic if you're working in a toxic environment and people are not pulling their weight, and you feel like you're always having to take up the slack -- just watch out."

#scorpio #caregiver #caregiver burnout #caregiver guilt #caregiver stress #family caregiver #caregiver support #burnout #mental health #workaholics

[havinganfois]

Imagine your f/o helping you through situations that would seem mundane to other people but severely stress you out. Like a song stuck loudly in your head, or an injured hangnail, or low vitamin levels, or lips so chapped it hurts. They are there for you, helping you, distracting you, caring for you. Giving you sympathy. Loving you.

#Crying in the club rn imagining Clancy doing this with me #thought I'd share #f/o imagines #platonic f/o imagines #parental f/o imagines #parent f/o imagines #caregiver f/o imagines #friend f/o imagines #romantic f/o imagines #actually autistic #Bless Clancy for being there when my magnesium drops #The songs that get stuck in my head stress me out sometimes :( #Clancy ily #ur my best friend

[itspileofgoodthings]

If Jane Austen could write about my family from the outside and I could read it then maybe I would be healed.

#moving out has helped! but is there is not a new social life/core for me yet #maybe ever? idk #but within the actual family unit there is ….. so much going on #so much suffering. so much change. unbelievable levels of stress and anxiety and depression #like I really cannot emphasize enOUGH how much #and my parents are essentially full time caregivers #and I both want to help and be a stabilizing factor and I also want to be honest about how much of a toll it takes on me #because i think it’s A Lot #but also I don’t like modern rhetoric on any of these difficult topics and I reject it even though I use a lot of the language #hence why I need Jane Austen to do it for me #to bring this full circle #anyways if you could say a prayer for us. for my parents especially but also my sister #well all the sisters and my brothers! #anyway reflecting angsting etc. #tbh I would love to know the medium of the average family’s unhappiness and stress #Because I think ours is off the charts #But idk. Would love to know more tbh #I would love to know if a lot of it just the human condition! But sometimes I’m just like this is not normal lol #thanks for listening

[isa-ah]

been following you since PRE bubblegum karkat days and it’s been really nice watching you grow and heal and whenever i see you on my dash and think of your growth it reminds me of my own healing journey. i find that really nice

HAHA that was AGES ago dude. my god. i cant believe youre still around, that was like, the worst of it LOLOL weve both probably come a looong way since then, yeah. life used to be abysmal but now ive got my hubby and mother in law and were moving to nola next month so theres nothing to fear =')

#we found the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood in the perfect part of the city so #we are hoping and praying. our sickass real estate agent did a walkthru yesterday and said #'its been on the market for a while so if you put in for it youll probably get it' #very exciting news theres even a patio we can screen in EASILY for our cats #right outside our bedroom door! it would be perfect for entertaining! #were finally going to make irl friends!!!!! sdkjksdjfksd #i had a couple freak friends in phoenix and like 2 cool friends but like. mostly. freaks. #so im hoping to make real actual friends this go round cause we sure as hell didnt out here in the sticks of al #yippeeeeeeee #babe is also going to get a job so i can take a break bc ive been doing coms to support us for years now and its STRESSFUL #im gunna get to go on a small vacation and kick back like #life is so good #im so excited to rest and chill #im gunna sew!! so much stuff!!!! #maybe ill even list some on here for people to buy like i just want to make so many little dudes all the time #but i dont have the time or energy to devote to that bc making patterns takes time and materials #IDK IDK TOTALLY OFF TOPIC #i dont talk about my daily life much actually its usually just specific shit so im taking the opportunity to say. #i grew up in a VERY bleak way. brother were talking moldy food bank food house rotting both my guardians so so sick #dropped out of middle school to be a fulltime caregiver lost both of them anyway #then a bunch of falling out with my family etc etc i had NOTHING going into my twenties but a FUCKTON of trauma and mistrust #and now im heading for my thirties and i am the healthiest and happiest i have ever been in my entire life #i look great i feel great i do pretty good for myself and the people around me #i love love love my friends im t4t gay married i have a cat thats like a pokemon partner. to me. its perfect #yes weve made a lot of plans that have fallen thru and were not where we thought we would be by now #but honestly? honestly? my life is really great. were broke as fuck but we get by and we love each other and thats whats UUUUUUUP #youll get there! just keep going! you have no idea what kinds of opportunities youll be offered in your life that can change everything

[goldkirk]

It is so incredible to be able to leave a situation, center and ground myself, and start recovering my energy, mental focus, and peace within minutes to an hour. What other people said or did wasn’t about me, I behaved well myself, I let things roll off as much as possible during the situation, and as soon as it was over I started doing nervous system first aid. What a difference living this way makes. Life is so much more peaceful when you actually protect boundaries, keep perspective, and care for yourself while properly in tune with your needs.

#right now I need slow breathing and Enya #yesterday I needed two hours straight of EDM and jump dancing #and I clocked BOTH of those things so my body and brain are much happier #I could’ve been burnt out and stressed and partly dissociated this weekend #but I’m NOT GONNA BE #and it was that simple. just knowing what to do and checking in with myself #frequently enough to know when I need it. #imagine if I learned how to do this in grade school!!! I’m so happy some kids get to grow up like this #and have the freedom and tools from their caregivers to actually do it right too #that number of kids is increasing every year and in a couple generations it’s gonna be a LOT #we’re so fucking lucky guys #we get to be alive at a real turning point in how humanity views and treats small humans #and how those small humans behave and live when they grow up #the world is going to become so much more beautiful #and it’s already pretty cool despite the unresolved anger and pain most of us currently live with #personal #trauma recovery

[beatheprincess]

Feeling very overwhelmed, the package, my stupid english assessment not working >:( other personal issues- everyone preaches on here not to stress over the bullshit but what to do when you want it to go away but it doesnt ? I look at the bright side n the positives of today. I'm just gonna age dream today 🥺🧸 and allow myself to feel safe ♡ if anyone feels this way too my dms/asks r always open💗🎀

#dms open #asks #support #fypシ #pinkcore #girlcore #girlblog ♡ #dollie #confession #age dreaming #non community agere #caregiver #i want someone to hold me #this is a girlblog #girlblog aesthetic #softcore #angelcore #coquette community #🎀 #mine #ventcore #venting #stressed #adult stuff #overwhelmed #my diary #ughhhh #ill be fine

[aprilliouz]

#psychology #mindfulness #my life philosophy #sandwich generation #mental health #kesehatan mental #burn out #stress #caregiver

[terrifyingstories]

ya'll i got a practicum!!!!!!!

#out. #cancer mention / #sibling death mention / #i haven't really spoken about this to anyone other than laura and dax but my sister passed away at the beginning of may and we found out #literally two days later that my mom most likely has lung cancer #so it's been probably the hardest couple months of my life and i've been just WRECKED and i thought about dropping out more than once #because i was in such a low place mentally where just. Nothing Mattered and I Didn't Care #but i was just accepted to this amazing placement where i get to work with kids in foster care and foster families and it just feels so #right and i'm just having a Crying Moment because everything has been SO much but i'm so profoundly grateful and EXCITED and i haven't been #able to really feel that in awhile Because of Everything #it's really everything i've wanted as someone who really wants to work with kiddos specifically kiddos in care #plus it's seven minutes away from home which was a big concern given i don't know what's going to happen with my mom going forward and i'm #her primary caregiver (she's 89 besides Everything) #funnily enough literally right next door to my sister's church which like. i'm not religious (big christian family don't practice not into #it you know) but it was a place she loved and that feels nice #ANYWAY THIS WAS A RAMBLE but i'm just feeling a lot of things and wanted to put them down somewhere #now that i've gotten a placement and i have that stress off my shoulders i would love to be around more #grief / #death / #depression /

[zen-and-the-art-of-caregiving]

Good News! Caregiving Probably Won't Kill You

Burnout is a real issue affecting caregivers of all types, and some shocking statistics have been floating around lately. One study claims that 70% of caregivers over the age of 70 die before their care recipients. Another study suggests that 30% of all caregivers die before those they are caring for. After some cursory research, I find these numbers to be a bit "click-baity" and hard to swallow, as these articles lack citations and are often posted and promoted by estate planning businesses. (Is EVERYTHING a scam these days? Sometimes it feels that way.)

Turning to real science, I found an ACTUAL research paper posted on the National Library of Medicine's website. Researchers conducted descriptive and survival analyses on up to 17 years of data from a nationally representative Health and Retirement Study to evaluate the proportion of spouse caregivers who died before their care recipients. The results show that only 18% of spouse caregivers died before their care recipients, and spouse caregivers had a significantly lower risk of mortality than their husbands or wives with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD).

"Available syntheses of population-based studies suggest mixed overall effects of caregiving status on mortality. In brief, the available findings imply that caregiving itself is not associated with an increased risk of death."

Kaplan-Meier survival curves for spouse caregivers and persons with ADRD–current version. Abbreviation: ADRD, Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.

So this is good news! However, this doesn't change the fact that caregivers are constantly confronted by direct threats to their mental health, and indirect threats to their physical well being. Peter Vitaliano, a professor of geriatric psychiatry at the University of Washington and an expert on caregiving, said that the chronic stress of caring for someone can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and a compromised immune system. "Caregivers are usually so immersed in their role that they neglect their own care—The stress is not only related to the daunting work of caregiving, but also the grief associated with the decline in the health of their loved ones." This is a condition that is increasingly being referred to as “caregiver syndrome” by the medical community.

But Vitaliano isn’t sure giving caregiver syndrome the status of an official diagnosis would be a good thing. He argues that if “caregiver syndrome” were listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (a text published by the American Psychiatric Association that defines all mental health disorders) it could stigmatize those that have it. “Caregiver stress is directly related to the way our society views the elderly and the people who care for them,” Vitaliano says. "Today, caregiving is viewed largely as a burden in this country. If it were viewed as more of a societal expectation and people were willing to offer more support, fewer caregivers would suffer in isolation."

From a personal level to a societal level, the remedy for suffering is the same. We have to work on ourselves and seek a path of compassion for others. Sometimes that feels unfair, because we're already burdened with responsibility and grief. Why do we have to add self-improvement to our to-do lists? Can't the universe cut us some slack and allow us to point to external causes for our suffering? The truth, really, is that this is also good news for us, because it puts us in control of our suffering. The one thing we can actually control in this reality is how we react to things.

Working on ourselves is not easy. In fact it's some of the hardest work there is. But for ourselves and everyone around us, it is always the most important work we can do. When viewed through this lens we see that caregiving becomes a gift instead of a burden. Caregiving presents us with a firehose of opportunities to practice patience and forgiveness, and not just for our care recipients and health care institutions. We need to develop patience and forgiveness for ourselves. Finding a balance of self-care and caring for others is the key to moderating our mood, and staying mentally fit in the face of grief and adversity.

We must take every opportunity to appreciate the tiny, wonderful things in our lives. We must let go of our resentments and hangups that truly do not matter. And we must not beat ourselves up for getting hung up on them in the first place. We can breathe. We can let go.

The good news is we are in control.

Link to the study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6292823

#caregiver support #caregiver burnout #caregiver stress #caregiver syndrome

[smallestpebble]

StressMonster101 as a Agere Caregiver

(yes I did her first because she is the easiest to imagine CG headcanons for)

(Also! Note: this is about the character Stress and not the content creator Stress. Also, Hermits interact at own risk.)

I imagine that Stress would be a very soft and comforting CG, she would absolutely spoil her littles with too many baked goods and treats. But she also knows when to say no to a little brat (as long as she doesn't get overwhelmed by their cuteness!)

She would make lots of teas and angel milk for her littles.

She makes sure that her littles have a space filled with blankets and soft things to be in and be comfortable. She can never say no to buying a stuffie for her littles, so they never go without many soft friends.

She also tries her hardest to be brave! If her little is particularly into spooky things or kid-horror movies (like Coraline) she will watch them with you, only to be the one most scared!

She goes completely all-out each Halloween and makes sure that her littles have the best costumes and would almost certainly plan out a route to go trick-or-treating most effectively! When her little isn't looking she might steal a piece of candy or two while out trick-or-treating. She would absolutely do matching costumes if she can!

#agere caregiver #age regression #sfw agere #hermitcraft #stressmonster101 #hermit stress #agere caregiver stressmonster101

[rainyfestivalsweets]

4/17/23

So far.... 24 oz water x 2, ACV shot, large cup of lemon water.

Woke up and mom was having an low oxygen episode.

I called in late to work and am sitting with her watching TV until she recovers.

The hardest part of caregiving is focusing on me while focusing on someone else is that I feel like someone always loses and someone always wins. It is hard to focus on 2 things at once.

Hard to deal with everything but I am trying. I tried to relax as much as I can this weekend. I spent time with people I love and care about. 💗

I was really stressed out last week and that makes it hard not to over consume food.

But I have my coach and we are working in things. Focusing on whole foods, drinking water, and working in daily habits for success. Walking daily, cardio as often as I can, and strength classes at least 2-3 x a week at work.

My coach reminded me that my mom would never want me to be harming myself because of her health.

And he is right. She wouldn't. She always wants the best for me. She lets me live here rent free and pays all the bills so I can catch up from my travesty of a marriage. She is supportive of me going to school and doing all the work things.

Working on creating better pathways for stress management.

Some meals:

#healthy lifestyle #getting healthy #losing weight #healthy eating #fitblr #healthy habits #operation lose this gut #weight loss #operationlosethisgut #weight loss journey #road to 199 #road to health #road to weight loss #road to fitness #lose weight #stress management #caregiving #full time employee #keep hydrated #nomorbidity #supplements #meditation

[piplupod]

me like four days ago to an old friend who msged me to reconnect: "yeah no i think things are settling down maybe after this last month of actual hell"

today: mother's medical situation has been handed a kablooey and the next few months are going to be Even Harder

#she is getting a biopsy tomorrow. and um. medications are being fucked with to drastic degrees #and we're going to have to wait several months for surgery when she was supposed to originally get it next month #fucking hell i am so incredibly stressed fjjfkdl i dont want this to be happening at all #i am the caregiver who is in charge of making sure she's conscious and okay at all times when dad's not available #i.e. he is at work or sleeping (shift worker) #and then bc of this im also on 911 calling duty if she ever does have smth happen #which isnt entirely out of the question. augh. #its uhm. a rly fucked thing to have to be the caregiver for ur abuser. im not doing very well tbh fjdkdl #this is also why hiatus is happening rn dhdksl things are so incredibly nightmarish rn #idk how im doing as well as i am <- is incredibly out of touch w reality and dissociating to dangerous degrees #idk!! i am frightened and exhausted and i just am begging whatever higher power may exist to let this be over one way or another honestly #get me out or get me gone or do smth to another of the chess pieces in this game so it can all finally stop #i need to go do 1k more words before bed tonight if i want to keep on track w november writign month #but i also desperately am needing to do my nightly drawing+decompressing fbfjdkdl so idk what to do its already 9pm augh augh #luckily i have dbt tomorrow so i will get to See real live ppl again tomorrow #its been a week since i talked to or have seen anyone outside of family face to face fbkfdl #god i am so fucked fjkfdl this is so so so bad and i cannot do anything abt any of it #i rly fucking wish dbt was helpful for ongoing situations but it seems like its only for short term bad times fjfjdldl #im so gjfkdld this is so fucked and i am aaaaaaaaa #pippen needs 2nd breakfast #vent tw