The Stresses of Becoming A Carer

Looking after someone can be a difficult job and when it comes to elderly family members, it's pretty easy to forget about yourself sometimes. Self-care is very important however and taking care of an elderly parent or relative can be exhausting and put a lot of mental pressure on you.

Stress can be one of the largest issues here and can come in many different forms. High stress levels over a long a period of time can have some negative physical effects such as illness, chest pains, digestive problems, sleep issues and more. On top of the physical issues, it can also have some bad mental health effects on a person as well, leading to depression,anxiety and other mental illnesses. When caring for someone else it's important to take time out of the situation to recover and deal with stress, you cannot help someone else if you are down and struggling to cope. So making time for yourself and thinking of your own health is very important.

Starting to care for someone is a major life event, even if you don't realise it. It changes the way you think, your daily routine changes instantly and you may have to give up a few things you previously enjoyed. It may seem hard at first but it's important to maintain a normal life, or as normal as possible. Caring for an elderly relative could affect relationships with your partner, other people in your social circle or your work and hobbies which are all important for maintaining happiness. Maintaining your own health should be priority and you should not just give up on what makes you happy,there is always a way to make things work such as just moving your schedule around a little bit to suit you better and not being afraid to ask for help.

It may be stating the obvious but caring for an elderly person can be demanding, both physically and emotionally. You may need to completely change your sleep pattern, learn new skills to better help them or adapt their living environment to better suit their needs. This can also impact on your financial situation as you may need to pay out for contractors to come in and do some work, such as adding access ramps, installing specialist safety or mobility equipment or adapting bathrooms with suitable facilities for the elderly or infirm.

There are grants available for many of the changes you may have to make. Check with your relevant Local Authority

You can get information on Disabled Facilites Grants here - https://www.gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants

Caring for an elderly parent or relative can be very stressful and if the stress or pressure that comes with this becomes too much,then there is no shame in getting some outside help. There are many resources available in the UK dedicated to carers and your first port of call should be Carers UK, a charity set up to help those caring for others. There is also plenty of information available from the NHS, Age UK, our Help and News section and other groups. It's possible to get some in-house help as well and it's worth checking this option out, especially if the person you're caring for requires quite a bit of help. Being able to call someone in to give you some respite, to cover for you when you're sick, need to travel for a few days or just need a few hours out can be really helpful. Even if you never need to call on them for help, just knowing someone is there if you do need them will relieve some pressure and remove some stress from your daily life.