Why is it that some caregivers of elderly people experience stress, burnout and other physical and psychological problems, but others experience high satisfaction and positive returns of caregiving? This topic is receiving a great deal of attention now in research, due to the sheer numbers of elderly people who require care and services. Two major factors are important when looking at the disparity influencing caregiver outcomes: resilience and social support.
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What Is Resilience?
Resilience is an interesting concept that has an even more intriguing history. Its roots come from the study of adversity of children during World War II. Scientists were curious about how children were dealing with war-related stressors including poverty, disease, homelessness, starvation and death. Scientists from all over the world began studying this phenomenon. It appears that resilience is associated with many personal, environmental and genetic factors. An individual’s relationships, family, and personality all make a difference when handing difficult or challenging situations. Soldiers during WWII were routinely instructed on adversity training and resilience to the effects of war.
There are other factors that contribute to an individual’s resilience. Perceived stress is a major influence determining if the individual interprets an event or task as stressful or not. Apparently, stress is in the eye of the beholder. One’s environment and how one interacts within this environment matters too. Many internal characteristics are important concerning how resilient an individual can be, such as one’s physical and emotional strengths, cognitive abilities, behavioral features, and one’s spiritual beliefs. Another factor – the resilience process – involves short-term or long-term exposure to stressful events or situations and how the individual learns to cope with them. And the last factor involved in resilience is obtaining a positive outcome. People can adapt to many things, particularly when there are good consequences to their actions, regardless of the stress, risk or trauma involved. The old saying “If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger” comes to mind.
Caregivers and Resilience: What’s the Connection?
For caregivers, the ability to “bounce back” from providing care day after day, dealing with stressors from caregiving itself, outside sources of stress in the environment and dealing with internal emotions is crucial. What is the opposite of bouncing back? Caregiver stress and possibly burnout. It is therefore important for caregivers to incorporate some simple things in their daily lives that can fortify their resilience.
First and foremost, any good caregiver needs to know when enough is enough and learn to say “No” when they need to. In other words, they need to set boundaries. Everyone has their limits, and once you cross them, you are in uncharted territory and anything can happen. Another common sense tactic is to provide good self-care and don’t be so hard on one’s self. No one is Super Man or Super Woman in health care. Everyone will have wins and losses. Days will be good and days will be bad. Healthcare providers are human and will experience sadness, anxiety, and guilt.
More healthy tactics to developing resilience is to be forgiving of the individuals you care for and those your work with. Harboring unforgiving feelings is a heavy burden and can take a toll on the caregiver’s physical and emotional well-being. Sometimes, it is best to just let things go. Some caregivers dig deep into their faith and spirituality and find great strength to continue their work. Caregivers can change the way they think about their work and life. They can choose the positive and extinguish negative thoughts and feelings. It is far better to be in control of your feelings than your feelings being in control of you. So, rise above your feelings.
Last, caregivers can always seek out support and comfort from family, friends and colleagues. Having someone listen can be very healing, especially if they do similar work. They can focus on growing and learning to become a better caregiver and a better person. We all grow and are works in progress. It is important to listen to your thoughts and feel your feelings. Don’t ignore them, they are trying to tell you something. The use of self-affirmations can help to keep the caregiver resilient in tough and stressful times. And one more point, always take the time to laugh and remember to not take absolutely everything seriously all the time.
Final Thoughts on Caregiver Resilience
Caregiver is a tough business and it can really take its toll on caregivers physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Resilience is a concept that comes from WWII and is rooted in military training and the adversity that children experienced during the war. Resilience is an important skill to possess as a caregiver because of the daily tasks, roles, duties, and burdens experienced by caregivers. Although there are many ways to build up one’s resilience, having good social support can be very effective in maintaining the caregiver’s health and well-being.
(NOTE: Interested in learning more about Employee Wellness? Checkout my Employee Wellness CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)