There is a move to label caregiver stress as a syndrome under DSM IV, but one doctor states that he opposes it since caregiver stress results from the way society views caregiving as a burden.
"Vitaliano isn't sure giving caregiver syndrome the status of an official diagnosis would be a good thing. He argues that if "caregiver syndrome" were listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (a text published by the American Psychiatric Association that defines all mental health disorders) it could stigmatize those that have it. "Caregiver stress is directly related to the way our society views the elderly and the people who care for them,"Vitaliano says. Today, caregiving is viewed largely as a burden in this county. If it were viewed as more of a societal expectation and people were willing to offer more support, fewer caregivers would suffer in isolation, he says.
Others think giving caregiver syndrome an official name would be helpful. Kathryn Anderson, a researcher in families and chronic illness at Florida International University, argues that caregiver stress should be named a syndrome because it would help caregivers seek the help and resources they need. Naming it a syndrome would encourage health professionals to develop better treatment strategies and require health insurers to pay for treatment, she believes." via CNN
One of the key things said here is about the isolation of caregiving that often results from a lack of support from the community. Not only does it cause isolation for the caregiver but for the person who is the recipient of care.
I recall talking to several caregiver groups, where the major concern was how a daughter of an elderly person was suffering burn out. When I'd ask if she had siblings, invariably she'd smile and reply "Yes, but they don't help mother. She's my burden." I'd also discover after asking questions that she wasn't receiving any help from local agencies or friends.
I asked her if her elderly mom had any friends who were able to get around and she looked at me quizzically but said yes. "Call them, invite them over," I urged her.
I received a call within a few months from the woman who told me that two of her mother's friends were now helping out and it had made an enormous difference in the situation. Not only was she getting assistance in caring for her mother's physical needs, but her mother was much happier and less isolated too.
"I never realized what good friends my mom had - or what a good friend she has been to others," she admitted.
This wouldn't have been possible as long as the woman continued to see her mom as a burden.
5 comments:
I cared for both my parents and my husband's parents and all of them have felt like burdens to me mostly because no one else in my family helped.
I don't see my parents as a burden as they get older. I enjoy spending time with them and if I run an errand for them or help them out I figure it's not a big deal with all they did for me. They never treated me or their aging parents like a burden so maybe I learned that from them.
Persons in the caregiver role can find help in support groups. There are online support groups for those who do not want or can't leave home.
However, I feel that a caregiver should not endanger his/her health because of this role.
A nursing home may be a practical and safe option for all invloved in the care.
As a healthcare professional in a nursing home. I see folks thriving and family members can be as involved as they want to be
by Susan Berg
http://dementiaviews.blogspot.com/
I was told by many professionals to put my mom in a nursing home. I did. It was absolutely a horror. The nursing home aides were not trained. I had to keep a constant eye on my mother. When I asked questions I was told I was "over involved".
I had to be to make sure her basic needs were taken care of, let alone any of us thriving. I agree that with dementia a nursing home might be your only option but it's a sad sad day when you have to do it, take it from a loving family member who had to resort to it.
"If it [caregiving] were viewed..." says the good doctor. Trouble is, caregiving is viewed the way it is viewed. We live in a place and time that is pathologically afraid of old age. As a nation, we tend to avert our gaze from the elderly and, by extension, from those who care for the elderly.
Is "caregiver syndrome" a real health issue? Mental health is always defined by and large by the expectations of culture and society. For example, in the USA a widow still dressed for mourning and weeping in public five years after losing her husband would generally be thought to need help in "coping" and treatment for depression. In parts of the Middle East, she would be conforming to the expectations of her society.
Pete Sampson
caregivingblog.com
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