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Nearly 80 percent of all long-term care is provided by spouses, children, grandchildren, neighbors, hanai family, and friends. Care can range from occasional help with grocery shopping to full-time care.
When care is minimal, most caregivers can juggle these tasks with their other family, work, and community responsibilities. But when care becomes more regular, it can create stress for both the caregivers and the care receivers.
One important skill for caregivers to develop is stress management. Successful stress management strategies are individual. Plans that work for one person may not work for another. The following steps can aid in developing a plan that eliminates some stressors and fits both your personality and situation.
1. List your sources of stress. Common sources include too many responsibilities, fear of the unknown, constant anxiety, financial concerns, and many more. Take a few minutes to list your stressors.
2. Identify the sources over which you have some control. Place a checkmark by those you can do something about and then circle one youíd like to tackle right away. For example, you may circle ìtoo many responsibilities.
3. Brainstorm ways to address the stressor. Be creative and include others in the brainstorming. In the ìtoo many responsibilitiesî example, the caregiverís list may include asking for help with meal preparation or hiring someone to provide personal care tasks.
4. Take action. Choose and implement one or two specific action steps from the brainstorming list. For example, the caregiver may decide to ask his/her adult children to prepare and deliver one or two meals a week.
Some caregiver stressors cannot be eliminated. In these cases, a short break from caregiving may help the caregiver to relax, refocus, and re-energize. The following list includes simple stress-relieving activities from local caregivers. For the complete list, visit the brochures ì101 Ideas for Managing Caregiver Stressî at https://go.hawaii.edu/X9D.
Read something enjoyable
Watch a good movie
Call a friend
Pamper yourself
Dance
Take a walk
Listen to relaxing music
Pull weeds
Go shopping
Spend time with children, grandchildren, or friends
Go snorkeling
Take a nap
Sing
Laugh
Attend a support group
Bake something delicious
Breathe deeply
Exercise
The most effective stress-relieving activities are those that are simple, enjoyable, and can be built into an already busy schedule. Consider making a list of your own and placing it on a bathroom mirror or other visible location. Choose at least one activity a day or a week, and complete it.
Many community resources are also available to aid Maui caregivers in balancing the duties and strains of caregiving. One of the first contacts a caregiver should make is the Maui County Office on Aging (MCOA). MCOA provides in-depth assessments and identifies resources and supports that help the older adult and the caregiver. Bookmark their website, https://www.mauicountyadrc.org, to quickly access information and resources. One of the many important tools that MCOA manages is their resource directory which is available as an online searchable database at https://go.hawaii.edu/m9X or as a printable document at https://go.hawaii.edu/V8i.
Although nothing can eliminate caregiver stress, there are many things that can be done to manage it. By reaching out, caregivers can find a community to support not only themselves but their loved ones as well.
* Heather Greenwood is with the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Cooperative Extension, Maui Aging and Intergenerational Programs. "Aging Matters" covers topics of interest to the aging Maui community and appears on the third Saturday of each month.