Caring for the Caregiver

Through some volunteering that I do for an organization called CanCare, and the other work that I do, I am constantly reminded of the stress that caregivers experiene as they support their loved one during an illness.  When one member of the household gets sick, everyone else in the household also gets sick.  What worries me is that caregivers are reaching out for emotional support, for reasons that include not thinking they should need it, not thinking the deserve it, or feeling like they need to be focused on the needs of the patient and not their own needs.  I always encourage them to reach out for practical support as well as for a safe place to talk about how they are feeling, especially the feelings that they think they shouldn’t be having.  When the caregiver wears out physically or emotionally, and compassion fatigue sets in, nobody benefits.