Untold Struggles: Understanding the Emotional Journey of Family Caregivers and How to Find Support
Whether you’re providing hands-on care to an aging parent or helping an aging loved one run errands, family caregivers understand firsthand the physical toll caregiving can have on their lives. Yet, most family caregivers don’t put much thought into the emotional aspects of the caregiver journey. Caring for an aging parent or spouse certainly affects the emotional and mental health of the family caregiver. There is a wide array of feelings family caregivers can experience, including ambivalence, frustration, loneliness, guilt, depression, and fear.
If you are a family caregiver, you may have experienced an assortment of emotions as you provide care. You may even feel as if you’re on an emotional roller coaster, feeling happy to help all of a sudden, feeling impatient and resentful. Whatever your situation, it’s important to remember that your emotional health matters and that your emotions are valid. Family caregivers ought not to bottle up their emotions but find appropriate ways to express themselves. When feelings aren’t acknowledged, family caregivers put their own health and well-being at risk. Below are five ways family caregivers can better manage their emotional health so that they can continue to provide nurturing care to their aging loved ones.
Acknowledge & Express Your Emotions
Improving emotional health begins with acknowledging and expressing emotions in an appropriate manner. It’s not healthy to ignore feelings of anger or jealousy; that can only lead to becoming bitter and full of rage. Instead, family caregivers need to acknowledge the feelings that arise and find strategies that help them release them. Perhaps it’s going for a walk or taking an exercise class at the Sheboygan County YMCA after providing care or getting your emotions out through journaling. Maybe art helps you express yourself or talk with a trusted friend who understands you just need to vent. Whatever approach you take, make it a habit to acknowledge your feelings.
Make Time for Self-Care
Caring for someone else while your own physical, mental, social, and spiritual needs aren’t met can quickly lead to all sorts of negative emotions. Prevent this by prioritizing self-care. Make time to engage in your favorite hobbies. Explore a local park and spend time reflecting in nature. Schedule a massage at places like Creekside Performance Center or Athena. Schedule lunch with friends or read a book. Making time for self-care can help family caregivers feel better about themselves, putting them in a more positive mood to care for others.
Connect With a Support Group
Not everyone understands what it’s like to be a family caregiver. Your friends’ parents may be younger or healthier, or your siblings may live far away and not realize all the care you provide for Mom or Dad. This disjoint can cause family caregivers to feel lonely, unappreciated, and invisible. Caregiver support groups can help family caregivers feel seen, heard, and validated and provide a safe place for caregivers to vent feelings that they don’t feel comfortable expressing in front of other friends or family members. Plus, caregiver support groups often offer learning opportunities so family caregivers can educate themselves on how to improve the care they provide and connect with local resources in the area. If you live in the area, Sheboygan County offers a free Caregivers Connect group and organizes an annual retreat for family caregivers.
Talk With a Professional
Another way family caregivers can better manage their emotional health is to talk with a professional. Whether you’ve been struggling with negative feelings for some time or are just beginning to feel anxiety creep in, professional counselors and therapists can provide valuable insight and a path toward healing. Professionals offer unbiased and judgment-free spaces for family caregivers to unleash their mental load while giving practical strategies and techniques for them to manage their feelings day to day. Mental Health America provides a curated list of local professional, licensed therapists and counselors that family caregivers can explore.
Ask for Help
Lastly, asking for help can certainly improve the well-being of family caregivers and allow them to better manage their emotional health. Think of specific tasks another family member or trusted friend could help with and then ask them. Whether it’s asking a sibling to manage your parents’ finances or a neighbor to sit with Mom while you go for a mental health walk, most people are more than willing to help family caregivers; they just need direction. Tap into local resources for family caregivers, such as the Family Caregivers Coalition in Sheboygan County. Organizations like this exist to help family caregivers on their caregiving journey.
One last local resource family caregivers can rely on to help them manage their emotional health is Visiting Angels Sheboygan. We are a trusted and dependable at-home care company that offers customized home care services to seniors in the area. Our compassionate caregivers can assist in a variety of ways, including light housekeeping, medication reminders, providing transportation, and assisting with personal hygiene care. While our caregivers are taking care of your aging loved one, you can have a guilt-free break and use the time to take care of yourself. If your support network is lacking and you’re battling negative emotions, let us help. Contact us today by calling 920-221-1000.