Is Caregiving Putting Too Much Stress on You?

surely thats just normal stress? not a special category of "caregiver stress" or even a syndrome at all? or perhaps im just being pedantic lol

NJQT...I'm in the same boat with you. And Griplock...no...its not just normal stress. Fortunately/unfortunately, unless you are a caregiver to someone, you'll never know the mental hell that you go thru.

I've been a live in caregiver to one of my grandparents for the last 7 years. Things have been tolerable up until the last year or so, and now I'm living in a nightmare. I get no privacy, when ever I leave the house, my room is searched, and I am constantly being pestered. Its gotten to the point where I no longer feel comfortable being here anymore.

Its the alzheimer's thats really getting to me. My grandmother means the world to me, but don't know who she is any more. Take this morning for instance. I was just getting up and I smelled smoke in the house. I got up and ran to the kitchen to find a pan with bacon (and a ton of grease) smoking. She had left the bacon cooking on high heat to go and put the mail out.

I too am suffering from Caregiver stress syndrome. It takes next to nothing for me to get upset and blow up (which is not me). Sleep is fleeting, I constantly worry about everything, here lately, all I want to do is just sit and stare at the walls. I've taken up smoking again, due to the stress of living here/taking care of her, and the fact that I seriously fucked up my back.

Many say to me... 'well just pack up and leave,' but unfortunately, I can't afford to live by myself. I work a full time job, and don't even bring in $1000 a month. I feel stuck. No one in the family will help me. They all bitch about how I'm wasting my life, yet if I go anywhere (like out of town) or do anything for myself, I get bitched out. They have little to no respect for me.....the list just goes on

Sorry NJ...didn't mean to hijack your blog, but I can relate to what you are going thru, and hope that one day, all of our hard work, care, and love will pay off.

unabear09 I do not consider your post a hijack at all. :no: Maybe I should have made this a thread? I know there are more of us cargivers out there. Maybe we should start a group where we can vent/rant to each other.

I'm actually curious to hear how other caregivers are handling the various stresses.

griplock22;bt17667 said:

surely thats just normal stress? not a special category of "caregiver stress" or even a syndrome at all? or perhaps im just being pedantic lol

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Not even close! :irked: Until you watch your father go from hale and hearty, to unable to drive a car, or walk without a cane in the space of a week you do not know. You don't know what it's like to have to wipe the drool from a loved ones face 20 times a day, or stand bewildered and embarassed in the aisle at Walmart because your proud father is now incontinent and you have no idea what size or type Depends he needs. :frown1:

Until you have spent a day in the life of a caregiver you don't know! :angryfire2:

I would say eight out of nine apply to me.

njqt466;bt17675 said:

Not even close! :irked: Until you watch your father go from hale and hearty, to unable to drive a car, or walk without a cane in the space of a week you do not know. You don't know what it's like to have to wipe the drool from a loved ones face 20 times a day, or stand bewildered and embarassed in the aisle at Walmart because your proud father is now incontinent and you have no idea what size or type Depends he needs. :frown1:

Until you have spent a day in the life of a caregiver you don't know! :angryfire2:

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wasnt trying to start or anything, sorry
and i really hope i dont ever have to find out:frown1:

njqt466;bt17683 said:

We need a support group for caregivers!

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It is helpful to hear how other people deal with it.

What you said earlier, that it's not just ordinary-variety stress, was really right-on.

griplock22;bt17685 said:

wasnt trying to start or anything, sorry and i really hope i dont ever have to find out:frown1:

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Sorry, but you really hit a nerve. It's not like I was complaining about the lack of a good mall nearby or the fact even the better department stores have stopped carrying narrow shoes. Caregiver stress is a real issue to many, not just myself.

I really hope you never have to go through this as well.

I have never heard of this syndrome. I have a lot of these symptoms and I thought that it was just what I was going through, but I need to reevaluate. I couldn't even enjoy myself the last time that I was out because I was too worried about my parents. I have several other friends in this same position and we were like confidantes to each other. Lately, it seems like we can't even help each other because we're suffering from the same thing. The worse for me is being easily irritated. The phone ringing even sets my nerves off. Whew. But I try not to let it show. Calm tones, smooth answers, slow movement.