Caregiver Role Strain — Causes, Symptoms, & Prevention

One in Four people responsible for caring for someone reports experiencing some form of caregiver role strain.

 

While caring for an aging parent or disabled loved one can be a rewarding experience, it can also be physically and emotionally draining. If you're experiencing caregiver stress, you're not alone. Many things can cause role strain, but there are ways to prevent and manage it.

This post will discuss the causes, symptoms, and prevention of carer role strain. We hope that this information will help you manage your responsibilities more effectively and find peace of mind.

What is Caregiver Role Strain?

When you are a family caregiver, you may begin to feel overwhelmed and like you can't perform your role adequately. This feeling is one of the first signs of role strain or caregiver burnout. If not dealt with, this stress can affect your quality of life.

Caregiver Role Strain Signs and Symptoms – Looking out for signs and symptoms that can indicate someone is experiencing role strain is the first step in preventing it from worsening. These include:

 

Caregiver role strain symptoms can also manifest emotionally- these symptoms can be challenging to deal with and may include:

• feeling isolated, resentful, or guilty
• experiencing caregiver blues, or caregiver anxiety

Who is at risk for caregiver role strain?

 

Over fifty-three percent of caregivers experience role strain. Women are more at risk for role strain because they often bear the brunt of responsibilities. However, anyone involved in caring for a loved one can experience caregiver role strain. Including:

• parents of an adult with special needs or dementia
• a wife or husband caring for their spouse
• a family member or friend providing care to an elderly person

What causes Caregiver Role Strain?

There is no one specific cause of burnout in those providing care. Instead, several issues often overwhelm the person providing care to the point that their health begins to suffer. Some of the reported causes for it are:

• providing physical care for the loved one
• managing a loved ones finances or household affairs
• making decisions about healthcare treatment options and end-of-life planning
• dealing with complicated family dynamics
• taking on legal responsibilities as Power of Attorney

How do you prevent caregiver role strain?

Try a few of these tips to help prevent role strain:

• take breaks
• Split care management tasks between family members
• look into adult day care
• using relaxation techniques
• maintain a healthy lifestyle
• eating well
• getting enough sleep
• Joining a support group
• work with a therapist

How Can Home Monitoring and technology help with caregiver role strain?

Home monitoring and technology enable seniors to get help quickly in an emergency and provide peace of mind for both you and your loved ones. These devices include:

• Home health monitoring devices - health monitoring devices can track a loved one's vital signs and send an alert to designated contacts when there is a problem.
• Support monitoring devices for seniors, elderly, and disabled individuals that help you stay connected with your loved ones.

Caregiver role strain can be a potentially serious problem, but there are ways to prevent it. We hope you found this post helpful and that it provided valuable information for you as you care for your loved ones.

At MOBI, we want to help make caregiving easier for everyone involved. That's why we provide home and health monitoring solutions that help you keep an eye on your loved ones even when you can't be with them physically.

 

Check out solutions to home monitoring with our monitoring & support kit, sensors, camera monitoring, video doorbell, and more. All MOBI products can be integrated through the MOBI smart app and grow with your family. 

 

Reach out to us today on Facebook or email us at service@getmobi.com. We are happy to answer any questions you have on how home and health monitoring can assist you in your day to day life. 

Find more helpful Resources for Caregivers below:

Family Caregiver Alliance
National Institutes on Aging
Medline Plus
Medicare.gov