Chronic Stress Hallmark of Caregivers
Stress and caregiving go hand-in-hand. Even during the time you are not physically caring for an ailing parent or spouse, you are on duty. There is the ever present feeling that an emergency is looming. There is the feeling that if the person we are caring for is unhappy, uncomfortable or otherwise not if a good spot, it is our fault. We should fix it. What happens, of course, is that our own health fails.
That is why we form in-person and on-line support groups. That is why I answer emails and wrote a book. That is why we bond. Caregivers are really the only people who totally understand what it's like to be in that position around the clock.
Beth Witrogen McLeod wrote a good piece on caregiver stress for Consumer Health Interactive. Titled "Caregiving and Stress," the article has some eye-opening information. Witrogen begins:
"When Corinne Porter's father had a massive stroke in 1998 and was placed in a nursing home 65 miles away, officials at the home said he would never wake up. Earl Murphy did wake up -- once his daughter, dissatisfied with his care, brought him to her home in Mossy Head, Florida. She had some idea what she was getting into: Since his stroke, her 84-year-old father hasn't been able to walk or speak; he's fed by tube, and he requires round-the-clock care."
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