Taking care of sick parents along with work responsibilities, Shriya had her hands full. She understood that it would be difficult to fulfill dual responsibilities. So, she hired full-time help in the house. She did not have to worry about the daily errands and caretaking responsibilities, apart from the occasional hospital visits. However, she had confined herself to work and home. She would skip team outings and informal gatherings mentioning that she must rush home. She had given up on her yoga classes saying that her time would be better utilized otherwise. All of this had negative repercussions. She became irritable and moody. She lost her temper quite easily, especially in the workplace. To make things worse, she started falling sick quite often. As a result, she had to take frequent leaves, which affected her performance at the workplace.
India is steadily becoming a country with increased geriatric population. In the next few years, the ratio of young people to old people would tilt more towards old people. This means that the caretaking responsibilities would also increase. Perhaps some of us already engage in the practice of caregiving for elderly parents, children or even spouse. Caregiving can be both rewarding and challenging. It helps a person feel accomplished, dutiful, and compassionate. We become more connected to our loves ones with the practice of caregiving. But caregiving can also take its toll on the individual.
Caregiver Burnout or Compassion Fatigue is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion, that is accompanied by a change in attitude – going from caring to unconcerned. But what leads to caregiver burnout? Research indicates that following factors lead to caregiver’s burnout:
Role overload: Individuals are often put under unrealistic expectations where they must balance everything with limited resources.
Societal pressures: Cultural norms often look down upon caregivers who do not dedicate everything towards caregiving. Care recipient is often prioritized over everything else.
Relationship quality: If the relationship between caregiver and care recipient is negative, then caregiver burnout is likely to increase.
Caregiver’s burnout can look like -
Losing interest in activities that were once enjoyed
Withdrawal from loved ones
Emotional and Physical fatigue
Changes in appetite and sleep
Feeling sad and/or hopeless
Irritability
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