Caregiver stress is a serious issue
You’re probably well aware that caregiver stress can have a serious negative impact on your health and ability to care for your older adult.
That’s why managing and reducing stress is so important. It helps you stay healthy so you can continue caregiving.
But we often convince ourselves that we’re less stressed than we really are. That’s why it’s important to have a way to measure how much stress we’re actually under.
To help with that, we found a quick and helpful quiz from AARP that allows you to measure your stress level today and over time.
We explain how the quiz works and how the results help you take action to avoid burning out or developing a stress-related chronic illness.
How will you score on AARP’s quick caregiver stress test?
AARP’s quiz consists of a list of 15 feelings that are common during times of stress.
To take this brief caregiver stress test, assign each feeling a score between 1 and 7. 1 means you never have that feeling and 7 means you always have that feeling.
When you’re done, add all the numbers to get your total stress score. It may be easier to print the page to take the test by hand.
Then, see AARP’s explanation of what your total score means and get recommendations on how to manage your current stress level.
How does this quiz help caregivers?
This quiz is useful because it tells you where you are on the spectrum of stress, how your stress levels change over time, and which stress management techniques work best for you.
For example, is your stress level at the maximum high score? That might be a wake up call that your own self-care needs to be a higher priority.
If your stress level is relatively low, keep an eye on so it won’t creep up over time without you noticing.
Use this quiz to monitor your stress over time
Caregiving is a constantly changing situation. That means you’ll go through periods of more and less stress.
Because of that, we recommend taking this quiz regularly and writing down your score maybe once every 1 or 2 months as a check-in.
This helps you check in with yourself and monitor your stress levels over time and as your caregiving situation changes.
Rising stress levels are a sign that you might want to consider making some changes. Stable or decreasing stress is a sign that what you’re doing is working for you.
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By DailyCaring Editorial Team Image: On the Seawall
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