The chronic patient and the caregiver

Caregiver is the person who takes full responsibility for the daily care and support of a dependent person for the basic activities of daily living (such as an elderly person or a patient). The most common examples are caregivers of the elderly with conditions such as senile dementia or Alzheimer's disease. However, there are also caregivers for other types of younger patients, with chronic diseases that cause them great disability and dependency and who require daily support and care.

The typical profile of the caregiver responds to middle-aged women (50-60 years) and who are the patient's wives or daughters. Do not forget that sometimes, elderly women (> 75 years) take care of their spouses with the consequent overexertion and morbidity that accompanies those ages.

On the other hand, it must be taken into account that in many cases, caregivers are at a stage in which they no longer have to take care of their children and cannot have their free time recovered and enjoy their maturity due to the obligation to care for their children. third parties which can increase the situation of stress and overload of the caregiver that we will explain later.

Caregiver syndrome

Although caring for a relative or an acquaintance can be very rewarding, it is true that it involves a situation of overwork and loss of autonomy for the caregiver that can cause tension, frustrations, dejection and difficulties in different areas of their daily life .

The so-called “caregiver syndrome” has been described, which is characterized by the appearance of a series of problems at a physical, mental and family level generated by the total responsibility in the care and daily support of the patient by the caregiver. Thus, the burden to which the caregiver is subjected can manifest itself in the form of health problems that are generally perceived and detected by the family doctor or primary care.

The main problems described and for which the caregiver demands attention are:

• Physical problems: they can include all kinds of symptoms, the most frequent being anxiety, headaches, chronic pain, fatigue, insomnia, digestive symptoms, among others.
• Psychological problems: depression, anxiety and insomnia are frequent as a manifestation of the emotional stress situation that the caregiver is experiencing.
• Problems in the social and family sphere: Family or work conflicts, social isolation, lack of leisure time and financial difficulties can aggravate the associated health problems.

How to approach patient care in a "healthy" way

Caregivers often relegate their personal life, physical and mental well-being to the background. When this happens, the caregiver will stop performing their caregiver work effectively and will end up being overwhelmed by the situation. The best way to detect it is when certain warning signs appear, which have to make you think, such as sleep problems, chronic fatigue, appetite alterations, the physical problems described above, disinterest, isolation, irritability, excessive consumption of caffeinated beverages or energetic, discouragement, emotional lability, etc.

The first step to take into account is that the caregiver must realize that they will only be able to carry out their work satisfactorily if they take care of themselves. It is very important for the caregiver to attend to their own needs and take care of themselves. It has been seen that the caregivers who face care most successfully are those who assume the need to take more care of themselves and accept the fact that self-care is essential.

To avoid reaching this situation it is necessary to take care of yourself and for this it is important:

• Ask for help from the environment made up of: family members, social services, institutions and associations. It is not necessary to assume the entire burden of care, but share it and delegate part of it.
• Set limits on care: especially when the person is being well cared for and demands more care and attention than necessary. To do this, you have to ask for help from the environment, learn to say no if the demand is not necessary and promote the patient's autonomy as much as possible.
• Thinking ahead: it is important to learn to anticipate problems that may arise as the disease progresses to anticipate difficult situations. This will help you take preventive measures that can help you avoid many problems. For this, it is important to know the evolution of the disease, consult with a professional and hold regular family meetings to discuss these issues and propose the solutions and measures that will be taken.

Tips for everyday

Some tips can be useful to improve the quality of life of the caregiver.

• It is recommended to do physical exercise on a regular basis that provides not only physical but psychological well-being.
• Avoid isolation by having free time that allows you to do leisure activities and maintain social contact with other people.
• Rest: introduce small moments of rest during the day and simple activities to relax and allow you to “disconnect”. Just looking out of a window and taking a few minutes deep breaths may be enough.
• Organization of time developing an activity plan that allows you to: prioritize important tasks, be realistic and know our limitations (you cannot do everything), delegate, establish a daily routine of action and take small breaths, use the resources of the community.

Sharing the burden of care with someone else makes it easier to put these tips into practice. Sometimes this is not enough or is not feasible and it is necessary to turn to professionals (doctors, social workers, psychologists, nurses), institutions (social service centers of the autonomous community, town halls, residences, day centers) or aid associations (Volunteering, Family Associations, etc). In these entities you can find help and information about the very useful resources available.