Being the family caregiver can be a thankless job, but did you also know that it could be a dangerous one? Just because you’re not at risk of physical injury doesn’t mean that taking on a certain job won’t be detrimental to your health. In the case of the family caregiver, one of the greatest occupational hazards is falling into poor health. Some of the most common side effects suffered by people who become 24/7 caregivers to their spouses or other family members include: exhaustion, depression, little or no attention to personal health, bad eating habits, little or no exercise and increased drug or alcohol use.
There are plenty of resources available for people to get caregiver support, whether all that’s needed is an ear to listen or an actual physical body to help with the care of an ill or disabled family member. If you’ve been caring for someone in your family so long and hard that your own health has begun to deteriorate as a result, it’s time to consider finding help in the form of professional health care service providers that can come to your home to perform certain tasks while you tend to your own needs for a change.
– Stephen Rudolph