What Signs of Stress Might You Be Experiencing as a Family Caregiver?

By Andy Niska | March 15, 2018 |

If you’re not aware of the signs of more severe stress, you might completely overlook them or treat them as individual situations. It’s important to be able to spot the pattern so that you can keep being the best family caregiver that you can be.

Caregiver in Spokane Valley WA: Signs of Stress

Trouble Sleeping.

When you’re stressed out, sleep can be really difficult to come by. Your brain keeps working on problems that it wasn’t able to solve during the day. Or it might keep going over situations that you handled well, but that you worry you should have handled in a different way or a better manner. Regardless, stress is robbing you of your sleep.

Irritability or Anger.

Stress also robs you of your patience. You might find that you’re extremely irritable, even if that isn’t normally something that happens to you. Simple situations that are usually no big deal can become huge stumbling blocks for you. You might even find that you’re angry, especially with your senior family member.

Difficulty Concentrating.

It’s tough to concentrate when stress is in charge of you. You might not even know what you’re thinking about besides what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s not unusual at all to zone out and suddenly realize that you’ve lost the last fifteen minutes or so gathering wool. It’s uncomfortable and it can make you feel as if you’re not qualified to be a caregiver.

Depression.

Depression can show up for a variety of reasons, but in the case of stress-related depression, you might feel as if you just can’t do enough. You may also be depressed because of your elderly family member’s condition and your helplessness to do anything more for her. If you’re feeling depressed, definitely go talk to your doctor as soon as possible so you can get the help that you need.

Health Problems.

Stress takes a tremendous toll on you physically. No matter how healthy you are, stress can do some damage. Since you might not be sleeping well, eating right, or otherwise taking excellent care of yourself, stress is going to have an easier time beating your body up. Existing health issues might even become more difficult to manage, so it’s time to go talk to your doctor about your options.

If you’re noticing these signs of stress or others that you know are signs of stress for you, talk with your doctor. Developing a plan for managing your stress now will keep you from experiencing any sort of breakdown later.

If you or an aging loved one are considering caregiver services in Spokane Valley, WA, please contact the friendly staff at Love at Home Senior Care, today. Call (509) 204-4088

Author
Recent Posts

Andy Niska

Owner at Love In Home Senior Care

Andy has over 20+ years experience in the medical community and has a true compassion for seniors. With a degree in Health Care Administration, he developed a background in a variety of health care services that only comes from first hand experience. While working as a manager of a large clinic and as an account executive for medical suppliers. Andy has built valuable relationships with the medical community.

His role in Love In Home Senior Care is to educate people on what care choice is the best fit for the senior and their family while attempting to make this decision as stress-free as possible for everyone involved.

This decision making process should be smooth and stress free for everyone, including all family members and their loved ones. Having access to people with experience (like the team at Love In Home Senior Care) to assist you along the way can help this process. With an extensive background in health care, Andy has the experience needed to guide and direct your loved one to the choice that is the best fit.