Currently, one in every four American families care for a family member over age 50, with the number of senior adults in America expected to double to more than 71 million by 2030. You may be asked to care for a family member at some point in the future; how will you respond to this?
The very real and often relentless stress experienced by caregivers is being given serious attention by the American Academy of Geriatric Psychologists, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and a host of other groups. Current debate includes assigning a formal definition of "caregiver syndrome", adding legitimacy and urgency to this syndrome, thus encouraging doctors to develop better screening and treatment options. Those opposed to the definition believe the label would stigmatize and further isolate the very people who need outside support. As coined by neuropsychiatrist Dr. J. Posner, caregiver syndrome is defined as "a debilitating condition brought on by unrelieved, constant caring for a person with a chronic illness or dementia."
Traditionally, family caregivers spend the majority of their time caring for their older family member who requires their attention. Particularly, in the initial stages of care, there is a high level of grief associated with the grim reality that your loved one's health is declining. It's not uncommon to suffer a period of shock, followed by acclimation to the new daily schedule. In some cases, the elevated stress hormone levels of a caregiver are quite similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Making their family members their top priority, caregivers often neglect their own health and emotional well-being. Depression, anxiety, guilt, resentment and anger are all classic symptoms associated with caregiver syndrome, most often leading to high blood pressure, diabetes and a compromised immune system. In drastic cases, caregivers can take on the symptoms of the person for whom they are caring. More commonly, though, personal roles between the caregiver and older adult change, where spouses are no longer partners, but evolve into nurse-patient. In the case of adult children caregivers, the roles are reversed, where the child is required to be the adult in the relationship.
If caregiving syndrome is considered to be a real condition causing serious health problems, how do we then encourage caregivers to make a doctor's appointment or join a support group, when their schedule is consumed by caring their aging/ill family member? The American Academy of Family Physicians recommend that all caregivers be screened for stress and depression. Caregivers who show signs of hostility, anxiety and a loss of interest in favorite activities are urged to talk to their physician. Widening the caregiver support system, finding additional resources to help caregivers, and increasing education about the realities of caregiving can all significantly decrease the occurrence of this syndrome.
Long-term caregiving does not have to dissolve from being an honor to a duty, or worse, a burden. If you know a caregiver, they are most likely to busy to ask for help, so call them, and offer to run errands or stay at home with the patient, while they get out for a few hours. If you are a caregiver, reach out for help. We all need each other.
Be well.
