People often claim to have a variety of needs which they sometimes struggle to meet. The more we understand our fundamental needs, the better we are equipped to live well.
The American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, conducted a research on the complexity of needs. In his 1943 paper “A theory of Human Motivation”, he developed a motivational theory called the hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, people have five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
No matter the age, our needs are important to our wellbeing as individuals. The needs of elderly people might be different when comparing to young people but are no less important. The difference is that, as we age, our healthcare needs are intertwined with social needs.
Let’s explore the needs of elderly people based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs!
At the age of emerging elderhood, the needs of individuals often need to be redefined. A needs assessment analysis based on age stages indicates that physiological functions decline with age; hence, addressing those needs is of primary importance.
Aging is associated with an increase in regards to seniors’ safety needs. Seniors are capable of being independent but sometimes they need assistance to remain safe. Caregivers can create a safe living environment for them by ensuring that the place they live is adequately equipped with daily care facilities and accommodates their everyday needs.
Sense of belonging is a central need in old age. Providing a senior with a sense of belonging is pivotal for that person’s wellbeing. Elder people are often afraid to lose their independence and being alone, so it is important for them to feel supported and cared for. What can caregivers do to alleviate their fear of social isolation and loneliness? Encouraging seniors to remain active in their interests and providing them with opportunities to participate in group activities can promote their active social life and eliminate their feelings of loneliness.
Studies have shown that self-esteem begins to decline as people get older. Expected life changes can affect people’s feeling of emotional confidence due to the change of their socioeconomic status, social roles, and/or physical abilities. This might affect one’s self love and appreciation. To boost the self-esteem of the elderly, caregivers should constantly show them that they are respected and appreciated especially for the knowledge, experiences, and wisdom they have and share. The caregivers also need to deconstruct the negative images around aging by challenging the negative developmental pattern of self-esteem. This will lead elder people to have a more balanced view of themselves and thus, improve their self-respect and sense of accomplishment.
Aging is strongly related to self-actualization! Older people have the need to feel fulfilled and accomplished. Caregivers can encourage elders in their journey towards self-actualisation and support their exploration towards new variations and meanings in life. For example, they can inspire elders to venture into new creative activities. A continual discovery of one’s self, fulfils the need of self-actualization. Creativity thus, can be an important tool to boost elderly people’s feelings of completeness, as this is skill is often associated with how creative one can be.
Family caregivers play an important role supporting their relatives with advanced progressive disease to live at home. Caring for an older family member often requires teamwork.
First of all, it is important to define the caregiving responsibilities, for example by setting up a family meeting and, if it makes sense, include the care recipient in the discussion. This is best done when there is not an emergency. A calm conversation about what kind of care is wanted and needed now, and what might be needed in the future, can help avoid a lot of confusion.
Decide who will be responsible for which tasks. Many families find the best first step is to name a primary caregiver, even if one is not needed immediately. That way the primary caregiver can step in if there is a crisis. Agree in advance how each of your efforts can complement one another so that you can be an effective team. Ideally, each of you will be able to take on tasks best suited to your skills or interests.
Consider Your Strengths When Sharing Caregiving Responsibilities
When thinking about who should be responsible for what, start with your strengths. Consider what you are particularly good at and how those skills might help in the current situation:
Are you good at finding information, keeping people up-to-date on changing conditions, and offering cheer, whether on the phone or with a computer?
Are you good at supervising and leading others?
Are you comfortable speaking with medical staff and interpreting what they say to others?
Is your strongest suit doing the numbers – paying bills, keeping track of bank statements, and reviewing insurance policies and reimbursement reports?
Are you the one in the family who can fix anything, while no one else knows the difference between pliers and a wrench?
Consider Your Limits When Sharing Caregiving Responsibilities
When thinking about who should be responsible for what, consider your limits. Ask yourself the following:
How often, both mentally and financially, can you afford to travel?
Are you emotionally prepared to take on what may feel like a reversal of roles between you and your parent – taking care of your parent instead of your parent taking care of you? Can you continue to respect your parent’s independence?
Can you be both calm and assertive when communicating from a distance?
How will your decision to take on caregiving responsibilities affect your work and home life?
Be realistic about how much you can do and what you are willing to do. Think about your schedule and how it might be adapted to give respite to a primary caregiver. For example, you might try to coordinate holiday and vacation times. Remember that over time, responsibilities may need to be revised to reflect changes in the situation, your care recipient’s needs, and each family member’s abilities and limitations.
Being the caregiver of seniors requires a specific set of skills. Some of them can slightly differ depending on what type of caregiving job one is doing – whether it is a job in the hospital, senior house, rehabilitation centre or any other one that involves working with seniors. Similarly, working with one specific senior for a longer time will be different than working with many of them every day. Finally, activities you do in your work are not always the same as the ones other caregivers do. However, there are still some universal skills that you can improve and tips that you can listen to in order to become a better caregiver and to make your job easier and more enjoyable. These are usually described as the soft skills being a mix of personality traits involving most often communication, acting in a group and management.
Our Here4U project’s soft skills pack consists of skills like:
Communication – the process of exchange of information, making emotions or ideas known to someone
Problem solving – the capability of a person to face one or several issues and find the best possible solution to fit all its needs
Keen observation – activity involving attention to detail, focus, analysis, reasoning and memory
Empathy – the ability to empathize with someone else’s emotional states, putting yourself in someone’s place and understanding their way of thinking, being able to accept the way others think and look at the reality from their perspective
Patience – the state of endurance under difficult circumstances
Stress management – undertaking correct actions adequate to current situation in order to cope with difficult, unpleasant, undesirable events occurring in life that cause unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, feeling of lack of control over the situation.
Creativity – a skill connected with how we develop, understand and communicate specific ideas.
Being able to empower and motivate – spreading motivation, a process that occurs in human consciousness (sometimes also in the subconscious mind), as a result of which there is a desire to do something
Assertiveness – a social and communicative skill that consists in expressing your own thoughts and ideas in an effective way, sharing your point of view with other people without underestimating theirs
Thick skin – ability to adapt to stressful circumstances and adverse events and deal with unfounded criticism
You can find out more about them in our diagnostic tool and soon in our MOOCS. However, this does not mean that these are the only soft skills worth knowing and improving in. Some more of them are also interconnected within the ones above.
For example, another important skills and potentially connected with caregiving are connected with working with people. These are leadership and teamwork skills. It is likely that as a caregiver you might need to cooperate with others doing the same work. These skills are beneficial because together you can better accomplish your goals and deliver good job. Moreover, there is a high chance of needing to work with flexibility and adaptability in order to react to sudden changes in the field. These also goes hand in hand with time management and organization useful in any job. An organized caregiver who manages time well will be able to achieve more in a shorter time and additionally they will be seen as more professional. Lastly, initiative is also a useful soft skill, connected with creativity. Caregivers need to be proactive in their work and should engage in many fun and interesting activities – the Here4U project will provide you with the “Box of Ideas” where you will find many of those.
Aging is a biological process that involves backward changes, and thus limiting the ability of cells and organs to self-repair. The decrease in the function of the nervous and endocrine systems gradually reduces metabolism, reducing muscle strength and the speed of conduction of nerve impulses. There are many methods used to delay aging, including geriatric rehabilitation and neurorehabilitation.
Geriatric rehabilitation
One of the roles that carers of the elderly play in relation to the people most dependent on the others help is to care for and work on improving the functioning of the elderly in their own home. The goal of geriatric rehabilitation is to improve mobility of the elderly and transform the aging process, which is often accompanied by disability and dependence on other people, into optimal aging, i.e. as long as possible to maintain the ability to function in many areas – physical, cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual despite occurring complaints.
Geriatric rehabilitation should be based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment – determining health, psychosocial problems and the functional capacity of an elderly person, and then choosing the most important goals.
Health-related activity of the elderly should mainly concern everyday activities, such as e.g. using kitchen appliances, cleaning, lifting something off the floor, exercises improving the ability to change position from sitting to standing, learning how to rise after a possible fall, improving walking. It should include walking at a slower and faster pace, changing direction, climbing up and down the step.
A very important role in the physical activity of the elderly is played by aerobic training programs, which are indicated for people who are unable to continue a given activity for a long period of time. Marching, nordic walking, hiking, running, cycling, swimming, aerobics are examples of trainings that improve cardiovascular and respiratory fitness, increase muscle endurance and general mobility.
As people grow old, the length of many muscles is shortened, which can lead to pain in certain positions, loss of function, and abnormal movement patterns, which is why stretching exercises are also recommended in this group.
Another important group for older people are exercises to improve balance and prevent falls. These exercises should affect static and dynamic balance, muscle strength and also include assessment and changes in the environment as well as assessment and correction of vision. An example is tai-chi exercises, which can be included in an exercise program for the elderly.
Rehabilitation programs for the elderly should be characterized by an individual approach to class participants. They can be carried out individually or in groups, the focus should be on simple and medium-difficult forms of physical activity. Physical exertion should preferably be made daily for 30 minutes or at least 3 times a week for 40 minutes. Exercises are also to be relaxing and enjoyable.
Neurorehabilitation
As people grow old, both the weight and volume of the brain decreases, and significant brain atrophy begins after the age of 60. Brain aging can be:
– optimal – without any symptoms of cognitive decline,
– physiological, with a slight impairment of cognitive functions,
– mild cognitive impairment – subjective and objective cognitive impairment with normal daily functioning,
The consequence of brain aging is, among others, deterioration of working memory and information processing speed.
Counteracting and / or delaying the effects of brain aging processes is possible because the brain has the ability to make plastic changes (neuroplasticity), thanks to which it can remodel connections between individual centers and rebuild lost functions. Neurorehabilitation uses technological achievements to restore, develop or improve the patient’s functioning in the area of:
motor (e.g. motor coordination, correct reaction time, precision of movements).
Knowledge of brain neuroplasticity is used in cognitive therapies.
Interest in cognitive remediation techniques in elderly have increased with a growing understanding of the impact of cognitive impairment on loss of independence in day to day function. In recent years, several studies have assessed the efficacy of different cognitive interventions in the elderly and reported beneficial effects, even in advanced age, which could be maintained for a considerable period of time beyond training. The focus of interventions in these studies was memory and related functions. Multifaceted training that combines three relatively diverse strands of therapy: A form of counseling/behavior therapy to target psychosocial variables (self-efficacy beliefs, feelings of control, and optimism), CT to target cognitive functions and complimentary physical activity, appears to have some benefit in maintaining a higher level of cognitive function over time. Targeted cognitive interventions, especially memory training interventions, have been widely used. Memory training including stress management, health promotion, and memory self-efficacy support has been tested in older adults in retirement residences. Memory training for healthy older adults typically includes mnemonic strategies, concentration and attention, relaxation, personal insight, self-monitoring, motivation, feedback, and problem-solving, succeeded in improving memory performance. With memory training classes, elders improve their performance on cognitive tasks including perceptual discrimination, visual search, recognition, recall, and spatial perception
The review of research evaluating the effect of cognitively stimulating lifestyles on cognitive function of older adults suggests that overall research findings support positive effects of cognitive and physical activity, social engagement, and therapeutic nutrition in optimizing cognitive aging.
In summary, the available data suggest that cognitive remediation therapies have great promise for improving cognition and quality of life of elderly.
Reference List
Żak M., Rehabilitacja geriatryczna (2020). Medycyna Praktyczna dla pacjentów, Retrieved May 31, 2020 from
Sharma I., Srivastava J., Kumar A., SharmaR., Cognitive remediation therapy for older adults (2016). Journal Geriatric of Mental Heatlh, Retrieved May 31, 2020 from
Carr, JH, & Shepherd, RB. (2006). The changing face of neurological rehabilitation. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 10(2), 147-156. Retrieved May 31, 2020 from http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-35552006000200003&lng=en&tlng=en. 10.1590/S1413-35552006000200003
Being the technical partner in the Here4U project we wanted to create a diagnostic tool for our caregivers working with seniors target group. Using this diagnostic tool the caregivers are able to assess the current state of their own personal soft skills. We based our tool on ten different soft skills, namely empathy, assertiveness, the ability to empower and motivate other people, general problem solving, stress management, creativity, patience, communication skills, observation skills, and thickness of skin, as was discussed and studied with the other partners in the project. The goal was to create an MVP or Minimum Viable Product of this tool and start testing it in order to later improve. In other words, the current version of the diagnostic tool is a psychometric tool and the goal is to provide the user of an automatic feedback report and their assessment results after completion of the questionnaire.
How it works.
When first navigating to the tool using the link: https://here4u-9e425.firebaseapp.com/, the user is asked how they wish to sign in. The tool asks you to sign in, in order for it to keep track of your previous scores. Users are able to sign up using their Google account or create an account using their email address. Once they created an account and they are signed in, the user is allowed to take the assessment test. This test is made up out of a series of fifty statements all related to one of the ten soft skills listed before. From the pool of all questions, five are selected from every soft skill and they are then randomized in order. The user then needs to indicate to what extent each of the fifty statements applies to them by using a Likert scale, ranging from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”. Finally upon finishing the questionnaire, the user is provided with a small report on how they fared for each of the examined skills. Further development of the platform will use these scores to suggest training materials and track personal development in these soft skills.
Each of the statements in the tool was carefully selected and thought on in cooperation with experts of the field. In this preliminary study it was also decided to provide each of the skills with respective “inverted” statements which can be raised throughout the test in order to really make the user thinks about their answers.
Future.
The next steps we are undertaking is adding the feedback report to the final screen where the user is able to view their score. This feedback will be based on the score for each soft skill.
Then, following the development of this assessment tool, we will build a e-learning platform for the caregivers to extend the resulting toolset of this project for our target group. By creating this platform we will allow senior’s caregivers to not only assess their current skills but also improve or refine them. The users of the platform will be able to follow online courses using media like video tutorials in order to improve on those soft skills they currently seem to lack in or refine skills they already own and excel in them.
Hope you are all as excited as we are! The Odisee team.
Providing care to elders can be a complex process; the more challenging the patients’ needs, the more complex, demanding, and stressful the caregiver’s role might be (Darer, Hwang, Pham, Bass & Anderson 2004). At the same time, it is important to consider obstacles and challenges of taking care of elderly people in order to work effectively with different generations and cultures. Elderly people consist a heterogeneous group, for which implementing a single management plan proves difficult to achieve. Caregiving can be stressful for the carers due to the demands emerging from the care receiver’s mental and physical deterioration. More precisely, the care recipient’s mental state and behavior are associated with caregiver’s emotional overwhelm, anxiety and depression.
However, the caregiving
relationship, by definition, is made up of two people. Caregiving is a dyadic
process involving the interactions between a care recipient and a caregiver in
their relationship. These patterns of interaction can be both positive and
negative. The relationship between the caregiver and the receiver consists of
the cognitions, emotions, internalized expectations, and qualifications that
the relationship partners construct as a result of their interactions with each
other. In this respect, competences in caregiving relationships appear to
require the ability of both people involved to find the balance.
The well-being of both
the elder and the caregiver has an impact on the well-being of the other member
of the dyad (Lyons et al. 2002). According to relevant theory and research,
stress is frequently observed as a result of the caregiving relationship on
both parties (Pinquart and Sorensen 2003). In other words, one party’s
psychological condition mirrors the condition of the other and that distress of
one party precipitates problems for the other (Mitrani et al. 2006). Moreover,
caregiving dyads seem to be affected by any change related to the social and
familial environment that they belong.
The ways a caregiver alleviates
stress is likely to influence the impact of the stressors on themselves and the
dyad. The caregiver may experience burnout and become susceptible to mental and
emotional distress as well as physical health challenges. This might affect their
ability to make a correct assessment of the physical needs and health care
status of the care recipient (Long et al., 1998). In addition, caregivers who feel
being emotionally overextended may perceive the care recipient to be more
impaired than they are. This may result in a negative and emotionally charged
atmosphere which can induce a negative effect on everyone’s mood and behaviour
and thus, alter the relationships between the variables.
In contrast, when the
caregiving relationship is built on acceptance and emotional support, the
likelihood of psychological morbidity reduces, and negative symptoms such as
anxiety and depression can be decreased (Cooper et al. 2008). Caregivers need
to apply different methods in order to cope with tension and meet the
caregiving requirements. If their methods are not effective, they may experience
what is frequently described as a ‘negative psychological load’ which can
influence the quality of their services and their psychological state in
general.
According to
Isobel Menzies (1960), the working model of nursing and caregiving care, is the
model that divides work into tasks, distributes the responsibilities for the
care and reduces the emotional relationship with the patients, and thereby
reduces the sources of work stress. To this extent, workplace culture adopts a
medical-centric paradigm, and care becomes more impersonal and based on routine
activities. The lack of an intimate relationship might give rise to feelings of
boredom, exclusion, and social marginality. Consistent with this, emotional
loneliness and social loneliness have been shown to have distinctive effects on
psychological wellbeing in younger (Russell, 1982) as well as in older people
(Green, Ericsson, &Winblad, 2001; Holmén, Richardson, Lago, &
Schatten-Jones, 2000). Therefore, this working model reflects negative on the
psychological state of the elderly and creates a negative circular journey.
In the case that
the caregivers adopt a person-centred philosophy then they finally develop
relationship-based interactions with the elders.
In order to be able to develop and maintain good working relationships with the
receivers, it is fundamental to this model for the caregiver to develop
mechanisms to deal with a set of negative factors such as work-related
stressors, the severity of the recipient’s condition, the role of a caregiver
in general, and possible stressors of their private lives. However, this is
something that requires time and experience processing.
In conclusion, the
relationship established between the two parts of the duo should further be
explored to understand the dynamics behind this dyadic interaction. Learning
how to deal with this situation and applying the propitious models can be
beneficial for both the caregivers and the care receivers. Creating high
quality in these relationships will eventually provide benefits which might
help sustain the caring aspect of caregiving.
Reference List:
Cooper Claudia,
Cornelius Katona and Gill Livingston. (2008). Validity and reliability of the brief
cope in carers of people with Dementia. The Journal of Nervous and Mental
Disease, 196 (11): 838-843.
Darer JD, Hwang W, Pham HH, Bass EB, Anderson G. (2004). More training
needed in chronic care: a survey of US physicians. Acad Med.; 79 (1):
32-40
Green, L. R., Richardson, D. S., Lago, T., &
Schatten-Jones, E. C. (2001). Network correlates of social and emotional
loneliness in young and older adults. Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, 27, 281-288. doi:10.1177/0146167201273002
Long, K., Sudha, S., & Mutran, E. J. (1998).
Elder-proxy agreement concerning the functional status and medical history of
the older person: The impact of caregiver burden and depressive symptomatology.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 46: 1103–1111.
Lyons, K. S., Zarit, S. H., Sayer, A. G., &
Whitlatch, C. J. (2002). Caregiving as a dyadic process: Perspectives from
caregiver and receiver. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 57B:
195–204.
Menzies IEP. (1960). A case study in the functioning
of social systems as a defence against anxiety. Hum Relat, 13: 95–121
Mitrani Victoria B., John E.
Lewis, Daniel J. Feaster, Sara J. Czaja, Carl Eisdorfer, Richard Schulz, Jose
Szapocznik. (2006). The Role of
Family Functioning in the Stress Process of Dementia Caregivers: A Structural
Family Framework. The Gerontologist, Volume 46, Issue 1; 97–105.
Pinquart, M. & So Rensen, S. (2003a). Predictors
of caregiver burden and depressive mood: a meta-analysis. Journal of
Gerontology, Psychological Sciences, 58: 112–128
Russell, D. (1982). The measurement of loneliness. In
Peplau L. A. & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory,
research, and therapy. New York, NY: Wiley. 81-104.
PINQUART,M.&So¨RENSEN, S. (2003a). Predictors of
caregiver burden and depressive mood: a meta-analysis.
It takes determination and strength
to help the sick or elderly in their daily life. Caring is also a job people
prefer to do. Caregiver is a job to be respected. Caregivers can be called upon
to provide a wide variety of assistance with activities of daily living,
including bathing, toileting, dressing, medications, and eating. Almost all
caregivers have to work long hours, and they have to be quite careful at this
time.
Caregiver’s Feelings
Caregivers feel a lot of emotions all of the work-day. Some important
emotions, impatience, fear, guilt, lack of appreciation and loneliness.
Spending all your time caring at someone makes you feel tired. At the end of
the day, they may be too tired to join social activities, this leads to a
worsening of family and social relationships of caregivers which place more
responsibility on caregivers.
Some caregivers blame themselves for
a bad relationship or they think them forgotten. These are reasons to cause a
psychological and physical sickness. Some caregivers always face the feeling of
guilt, for not loving or even liking the person in need of care at times. If
the person in need of care gets hurt or something else happens, there is guilt
about it being your fault that it happened.
Commonly, caregivers don’t share the
feelings with no one. Sharing emotions with others relieve fear. Some people in
need of care, don’t listen to caregivers and they don’t want to do what they
say. Caregivers occasionally have to spend a long time to do a task and this
situation can make caregivers more impatient.
How
To Manage Your Feelings
Emotional support: Sharing emotions with others
relieves stress and may offer a different perspective on problems. These are
helpful steps to improve the emotional and physical health of caregivers. Talk
to friends or family who give you positive support. A therapist can be a great
help, too.
Wellness actives : Many caregivers neglect their own emotional,
physical and spiritual needs. Wellness encompasses healthy all-around living.
Some studies suggest eating a balanced diet, getting at least seven hours of
restorative sleep, regular exercise caring for emotional health by way of a
mental health provider. Try to : Get
enough sleep, meditate or yoga.
Stay active and social: Connecting with others in similar situations is powerful, because you
no longer feel isolated and you can learn from others. And keep up with hobbies, community groups, and
activities that bring you joy and meaning.
Accept help: The more help and support you accept, the better it will make you
feel. You do not have to do it all, nor is it healthy to do it all. The
best way to avoid burnout is to accept help. People often want to help; just
ask.
Whether you become a caregiver
gradually or all of sudden due to a crisis, or whether you are a caregiver
willingly or by default, many emotions surface when you take on the job of caregiving.
Whatever your situation, it is important to remember that you, too, are
important
Characteristics
of the perfect caregiver of the elderly
Caring for the elderly comes with a great responsibility. Definitely not everyone can successfully cope with that role. In order to succeed in this job a person should have certain set of characteristics presence of which will allow the workers to be satisfied with their work. In this article I will deal primarily with mental immunity and so-called caregiver stress syndrome, but at the beginning I will also mention other personality traits and characteristics necessary to practice this profession.
First of all, we need to remember that a good
caregiver is a composed and patient person. Both of these features are
extremely important in dealing with dependent people who, because of their age
and disease might feel nervous, lost or be in a bad mood. Another important
feature is the ability to react quickly in crisis situations and resistance to
stress. Putting a brave on things in a the event of sudden deterioration in the
well-being of an elderly person and the ability to provide first aid are
amongst the most important responsibilities of a senior care assistant. Knowledge
about diseases and illnesses affecting the elderly is also very useful. A good
caregiver should be empathic and sensitive to the feelings and needs of the
elderly. It is vital to support, talk and build positive relationships between
the caregiver and the mentee. Important personality traits undoubtedly include
warmth and cordiality, which a person can bestow on their mentee: it’s mainly
about the ability to create a situation where the senior will feel good and
safe. It should also be remembered that the basic principle in the care of the elderly
people is respect for the mentee. Certainly, good physical condition is an
important feature of an elderly person’s caregiver. Everyday activities related
to the care of the dependents require efficiency while performing various types
of duties.
To sum up, the work of an
elderly person’s guardian is a demanding job, and therefore it should certainly
not be done by random people (whose main motivation is for example to earn
money), but those who have the appropriate predispositions for it.
Mental resistance and work with the elderly and the
so-called caregiver stress syndrome
“Mental resistance is a personality trait
that largely determines how well we deal with challenges, stressors and
pressure, regardless of the circumstances” (Strycharczyk, Clough, 2015).
Even the most resistant people can lose their resistance
after long-term care of a chronically ill person. Performing tasks under
constant stress has certain emotional and social consequences.
This situation can lead to symptoms
that are called the Caregiver Syndrome (or CSS – Caregiver Stress Syndrome).
Caregiver Stress Syndrome is a new
phenomenon in psychology, scientists in the world have only been dealing with
it for 20 years. In Poland, this phenomenon was highlighted a few years ago. So
let’s get to know what caregiver’s stress syndrome is and how to deal with it.
Caregivers
often complain about the lack of gratitude on the part of the elderly.
Paradoxically – by devoting their time and strength to the person looked after,
the elderly often become their greatest enemies, because they constantly
demand, forbid or order something. This situation may lead to symptoms that are
called the Caregiver Stress Syndrome.
The
Caregiver Syndrome – symptoms
The “Caregiver Syndrome” is characterized by specific symptoms:
• physical (e.g. pain,
tiredness),
• psychosomatic (e.g. problems
with sleep, appetite),
• psychosocial (e.g. feelings
of emptiness, loneliness, isolation).
They can occur in people with responsibility for caring for the sick and
are compounded by chronic fatigue and neglect of their own needs. The
environment – both medical staff who take care of the sick and the immediate
environment (family, neighbours, etc.) – expects the carer to fulfill his
duties perfectly. Everyone accounts for the caregiver, at the same time
forgetting about him and his rights. If the caregiver does not devote himself
completely to his role, he is assessed as uninvolved, not caring for his
mentee. In such circumstances, self-care would be a manifestation of
unacceptable selfishness of the guardian. A danger for the person who deals
with the sick are the symptoms of depression. Symptoms of the guardian’s
syndrome develop slowly, parallel to the deteriorating health of the mentee.
The caregiver often experiences sadness, feelings of emptiness, loses interest
in the current forms of activity. In depression, he can neglect his duties,
posing a threat to the mentee and himself. In very extreme cases, suicidal
thoughts may occur. Especially when the caregiver is a sick person and needs
help.
Chronic stress severely strains our immune system, a caregiver more often
than usually becomes ill with various types of infections. Due to fatigue, the
ability to think and concentrate also deteriorate. A common manifestation of
the Caregiver Syndrome is anger at the mentee, the situation in which the caregiver
finds himself, and reluctance to perform everyday activities. The slightest
failure can then cause irritability and irritation as well as anger that is
difficult to control. It also happens that a person caring for a sick and
elderly person is accompanied by a constant feeling of guilt because of
neglecting their duties, their improper performance or suppressed anger at the
patient. Most symptoms can be greatly exaggerated, that is, they can be felt by
a person who performs his duties correctly and properly. In summary – the main
symptoms of the Guardian’s Syndrome are:
connection
exhaustion
feeling
guilty
anger
anxiety
depression
feeling of
powerlessness
deterioration
of physical health
pain
insomnia.
According to the report published by the website www.health.com, carers of
the elderly are in the first place in the ranking covering professions that can
contribute most to the appearance of mood disorders. Nearly 11 percent of those
performing this occupation suffer from depression.
How can you deal with the Caregiver Syndrome?
Most caregivers do not seek
professional help because they do not realize that they suffer from a medical
condition. What is happening to them they usually interpret as weakness of their
character or lack of skills. Meanwhile, the significance of the problem is
demonstrated by the results of research carried out at the University of
Pittsburgh by Richard Schulz and Scott Beach, according to which the care of a
chronically ill person increases the risk of death by 63% compared to a group
of peers who do not work as caregivers.
It is important for the caregiver
to watch not only the patient but also himself. If he wants to be good at what
he does, he must take care of himself first. Someone who is exhausted,
irritable, depressed – will not be a good guardian. That is why “healthy
egoism” is needed – that is, above all, taking care of one’s own needs. A
good guardian is a smiling and relaxed guardian. A serious mistake is to take
the posture: “I have to manage, I have to be independent, I will not ask
anyone for help.” With proper support, the role of guardian may become
easier. First you need to take into account informal support, which includes
family, friends, neighbors. They are a good source of help, especially
emergency help, and their presence can improve the patient’s mood. It is a
mistake to isolate and avoid people who would like to help or even listen to the
problems. It is advisable to talk about matters related to the syndrome and to
accept the help offered.
Caregivers should think about support systems at an early stage of their
career. Thanks to regular help focused on the physical and emotional needs of
the caregiver, crisis situations are prevented, which in the context of many
long years of care for the elderly person is crucial for the health and quality
of life of not only the caregiver but also the caregiver’s mentee.
The first
symptoms of the Caregiver’s Syndrome may be controlled by the caregiver
himself, but it is worth remembering that the more serious symptoms of the
disease usually require the help of a psychologist. The caretaker of the
elderly person should remember that apart from working for their mentee, they also
have their own life and must not forget about it during everyday activities.
Our work will be better and more efficient if in everyday life we plan time
to rest, relax, go for a walk, clear our thoughts from the patient’s problems
and deal with the things we like. It is important not to blame yourself for the
patient’s condition, not to give up if the disease wins again, and not us, and
to find strength in fighting other health problems of the patient. If the
patient is troublesome, cranky and frustrated, it is worth explaining his
behavior with illness and suffering, and not with deliberate malice directed
against us. It facilitates work and changes our attitude towards the mentee.
None of us is self-sufficient. It is more
obvious that in a situation of a loved one’s chronic illness, we should be able
to use the help of others. It will certainly be useful for both caregivers and
the sick. It is worth remembering the following possibilities:
• support of family, friends and even
neighbors,
• support groups (it’s easiest to contact the
attending physician to contact them),
• help of specialists – doctor, psychologist,
nurse,
• relax – that is, all those forms of activity
that bring relaxation to a given person (walking, reading, cooking, jogging, nordic
walking, listening to music, meeting with friends, etc.)
If the caregiver understands that he is not
irreplaceable and there are no contraindications for some of the duties to be
taken over by others, and additionally he will take care of his mental comfort
– there is much less chance of being touched by the Caregiver’s Syndrome.
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