Caring for seniors is an emotional job

One caregiving challenge that doesn’t get enough attention is dealing with the strong emotions that unavoidably come up.

Caregiving is hectic and exhausting, so it’s natural to push aside the feelings and focus on concrete tasks – especially when those feelings are ones we don’t want to admit to.

The problem is, if these emotions aren’t dealt with, they can seriously damage your health.

Dealing with these strong emotions rather than ignoring them significantly reduces stress, improves your ability to care for yourself, and helps you be realistic and get the help you need.

We describe top caregiving emotions and share 4 ways to help you manage difficult feelings to reduce stress and improve your health.

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Common caregiver emotions

While caring for an older adult, many caregivers have strong and conflicting feelings.

Top emotions include:

1. Anger at your older adult’s frustrating behavior

2. Anger at their disease or the aging process itself

3. Anger that you’ve been forced to take on so much responsibility

4. Guilt over thoughts and feelings (like wishing they would pass away sooner to prevent more suffering, being angry, wanting to quit, etc.)

5. Anxiety because you don’t know what will happen next

6. Frustration that you can’t stop what’s happening

7. Despair that there aren’t any treatments that can restore them to the way they used to be

8. Sadness for all that you’ve both already lost

9. Anticipatory grief, which means that you’re dealing with losing your older adult before they actually pass away

4 ways to manage strong caregiver emotions

1. Don’t ignore your feelings Ignoring anger, sadness, and other caregiver emotions only makes things worse.

Forcing away your feelings can cause high stress, sudden angry outbursts (and guilt afterwards), hopelessness, unhealthy life choices, sleep problems, or depression.

Acknowledging and identifying your feelings may be uncomfortable at first.

But the more you accept what you’re feeling, the less likely you’ll be plagued by those negative health “side effects.”

2. Don’t be “strong and silent” You don’t need to pretend that everything is fine. You’re in the middle of a serious, sometimes scary, and literally life-changing situation.

Not allowing yourself to cry, show anger, or say that you’re frustrated and need help adds an incredible amount of stress to an already stressful situation.

Instead, give yourself permission to share with supportive family and friends. Talk about what’s really happening, how you’re feeling about it, and what kind of help you need.

You’ll get rid of the extra stress from pretending, get more understanding from others, and be more open to support.

Advertisement 3. Don’t feel guilty about your feelings Whatever you’re feeling is being felt by caregivers all over the world.

Don’t hold yourself to unrealistic expectations (like finding joy in every part of caregiving) or beat yourself up over negative feelings. That just adds extra stress and negativity.

For example, you might get really mad because your older adult has made a huge mess at the end of a tough day, meaning extra hours of exhausting clean-up for you.

Feeling angry is a normal response to this situation and doesn’t mean you’re a heartless monster.

4. Find an outlet for intense feelings You don’t want to bottle up strong or negative feelings, but you also don’t want to take things out on your older adult – that won’t improve the situation.

In moments of stress or frustration, be as calm and kind as possible, even if that means just keeping your mouth shut in front of your older adult.

As soon as you can get away, use a safe outlet for your anger, frustration, sadness, or other emotions.

Giving yourself an outlet helps reduce stress and decrease the intensity of your feelings.

Some suggestions:

1. Punch, kick, throw, or scream into a pillow

2. Call or text message with supportive family, friends, or fellow caregivers

3. Attend a caregiver support group meeting

4. Message with fellow caregivers in an online caregiver support group

5. Allow yourself to have a good cry

6. Express your thoughts in a journal

7. Talk with a counselor or therapist

8. Focus on something that requires a lot of physical effort and concentration (like scrubbing the tub)

Recommended for you:

1. 15 Quick Tips for Managing Caregiver Stress

2. 5 Top Mobile Apps for Caregiver Stress Relief

3. 5 Ways to Reduce and Manage Caregiver Resentment

By DailyCaring Editorial Team

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