How to Reduce Stress for Caregivers

The key to starting to reduce our stress as caregivers is to become aware of our stress and recognize the warning signs of stress. Here are a few examples:

Anger or impatience towards the person being cared for: “I can't deal with the time it takes you to get dressed...” Denial: “The situation will eventually return to normal...” Anxiety: “I wonder if the CLSC worker will meet my expectations and those of my loved one, otherwise I believe my loved one will blame me.” Exhaustion: “I don't think I have the energy needed to carry out what is necessary in my caregiving routine.” Lack of sleep: “I practically always sleep with one eye open since caregiving began, I'm always on alert...” Lack of concentration: “Where did I put their compression stockings again?...” Hyper-emotionality: “I have emotional ups and downs, feeling overly sensitive...” Withdrawal: “I no longer want to go out with my friends or take a walk outside, it's too much.”

If you recognize yourself in one or more of these signs, it may be a good idea to talk about it with someone you trust to see if they agree with you, to take a step back. If you wish to address your stress in order to reduce it, here are some actions you can take:

Consult a health professional to get a more accurate view of how to reduce stress in your daily life for your physical and mental health. Make an appointment with a psychosocial worker to release the 'overload,' which often leads to identifying the causes of stress and finding concrete ways to address them based on the given situation. Recognizing and accepting the emotions you experience in your caregiving relationship can help you identify the stress you're feeling and, in turn, indicate that it might be time to make an adjustment (a change) to make the situation more stable and less stressful. Take care of yourself: to better manage stress, it is important to take care of your basic needs: eating, sleeping, engaging in activities, and seeing your social circle. Ask for additional help: as mentioned earlier, you may be experiencing stress due to a change in the caregiving relationship. Therefore, it may be worthwhile to evaluate your options for assistance that you can receive to alleviate your stress: whether it be through respite care or services offered by the CLSC, a community organization, or a private agency.

As Sonia Lupien aptly states in her book For the Love of Stress, “it is the variety of techniques used (to reduce stress) that has the best long-term effect in helping control the stress response.”

Finally, we leave you here with a stress checklist developed by the Alzheimer Society, which you can fill out occasionally to validate your stress level and see if it's time to reduce it:

“If you answered 'sometimes' or 'often' to many questions, you might need help to take care of yourself. Even with the help of support services, caregiving can be very demanding. Regardless of your closeness to the person, you might consider reaching out to others to assist you in providing care.” [1]

[1] Reducing Stress in Caregivers, https://alzheimer.ca/fr/les-aides-et-le-soutien/je-prends-soin-dune-personne-atteinte-dun-trouble-neurocognitif/prendre-1, Alzheimer Society