Your challenges and experiences will be unique. However, you are not alone. You cannot be a good caregiver to someone else without caring for yourself. Taking care of yourself requires finding balance. Regular breaks from caregiving are an essential part of this balance.
Take an hour daily, an afternoon weekly or a day monthly — whatever you can manage. Counseling, adult day care, a home health aide, or any other source of help should be looked at as early interventions, not eleventh-hour alternatives. The most important thing to remember is that the person you are taking care of is only doing as well as you are; if you do not take care of yourself, you will not be able to take care of your loved one.
Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that may include by a change in attitude, from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned.
Caregiver Burden is a complex, multi-dimensional concept that includes factors that are subjective based on your own personal experience and objective not influenced by your feelings.
There are three basic sections of this continuum:. Caregiver stress is when you experience a manageable amount of stress and anxiety related to caregiving. Caregiver stress is, unfortunately, a part of life when caring for someone with a chronic illness such as PD — especially over an extended period. As stress and anxiety grows to be less manageable, we start calling it caregiver strain. You have reached this stage when the stress and anxiety begin to impact your ability to care for your loved one.
