In the United States, almost 1 in 5 Americans provides unpaid care to a loved one or family member. This equates to about 53 million people in the U.S. who are going unpaid to care for a child, spouse, their parents and friends. Caregivers will aid in all care for their loved ones including bathing, feeding, bill paying, dressing, shopping, transportation and more. For many, it becomes a 24/7 job. And while caregivers reported feeling rewarded and satisfied taking care of someone else, they also reported feeling high levels of burden, stress, depression and other adverse health outcomes.
What is Caregiver Burnout?
If a person who is taking care of a loved one neglects their physical, mental or emotional health, this may lead to what is known as caregiver burnout, a state of exhaustion that can happen when you dedicate time and energy to manage the health and safety of someone else. Some symptoms of caregiver burnout are fatigue, stress, anxiety, depression and the person may even become withdrawn. If someone experiences caregiver burnout for a long period of time, this could begin to manifest as physical health problems such as, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease.
Avoiding caregiver burnout means prioritizing your own needs and realizing you have to be in the best state to provide proper care for another person. We’ve got 5 great self-care tips for caregivers to help avoid burnout so you can keep caring for your loved one in the best possible way.
5 Self-care Tips for Caregivers
- Set Realistic Goals
Providing care to someone who can no longer care for themselves can already be an overwhelming task, especially while you’re still trying to manage your own life. Setting goals and knowing how to manage time can make all the difference in getting you and your loved one through the day. Break down tasks or make a to-do list in order to simplify tasks. Consider developing a daily routine that you and your loved one can follow. This can also help you set boundaries, another form of self-care that establishes guidelines for how you want to be treated. This not only helps you consider your own emotions and needs, but others as well.
2. Take Care of Your Health
One of the biggest things caregivers may neglect is their own health. It’s important to make sure you’re eating healthy to avoid diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Those conditions are more prevalent among caregivers, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Make sure to stay on top of doctor’s appointments to know how your body is responding to stress, as well as staying up on routine screenings and vaccines. Don’t forget to include some movement into your day, like a 30-minute walk, and depending on your needs, make sure you are prioritizing sleep.
3. As for Help and Accept it
If others ask how they can help you, think of ways they can step in and relieve some of the burden of your tasks. make a list of tasks others can help you with and let them decide which ones they can best help you with. This could include cooking, cleaning, and taking your loved one to doctor’s appointments.
4. Consider Respite Care
While leaving a loved one in someone else’s care might be difficult, respite care can give caregivers a break and prevent burnout in the long run. Some types of respite care include the following:
- In-home respite care – this would include hiring a home nurse or health care aide to come into the home to take care of your loved one.
- Adult care centers and programs – adult day care programs can provide caregivers with relief and reassurance while their family member or friend is being taken care of at a care facility. These centers may provide meals, group activities, transportation to appointments and more while a caregiver is at work or completing other tasks for the day.
- Short-term nursing homes – Some nursing homes offer older adults a short term stay while their caretaker is away.
5. Remain Socially Connected
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 2024, some caregivers reported a breakdown in their social networks, especially those taking care of patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. Isolation and loneliness are contributing factors to caregiver burnout. It’s important to maintain healthy connections outside of who you are taking care of. Learn more about support groups to meet others who are also dedicating time to taking care of someone else.
You may learn tips or other skills that could help you, but most importantly, you’ll feel less lonely and have people around you who understand what you are going through. Below are some resources from around the web for caregivers where you can learn about financial assistance, medical help, support groups and more:
Resources for Caregivers
Family Caregiver Alliance – https://www.caregiver.org/connecting-caregivers/support-groups/
Alzheimer’s Association- https://www.alz.org/help-support/community/support-groups
VA Caregiver Support Program- https://www.caregiver.va.gov/
Caregiver Network Community- https://www.facebook.com/groups/201714486219468