Being a caregiver can be rewarding yet exhausting. Being a caregiver could mean:

• Having to learn new things and take on new responsibilities
• Having to put aside your own personal time, interests or activities
• Adjusting to different dynamics or routines in your relationships with your loved ones

These overwhelming changes could trigger different emotional responses, such as:

• Emotion – Anxiety: Worrying about your loved one and how to take care of them, or about the uncertain future ahead. Having to plan their meals, be sensitive to their emotions, or accompany them for medical appointments could add to your stress and anxiety.
• Emotion – Anger: Perhaps you could also be feeling anger and frustration at the situation, the lack of help from the people around you, or how your loved one is responding to your care. That anger could stem from other emotions such as hurt, feeling unappreciated, disappointment, or a feeling of helplessness, worries, etc
• Emotion – Guilt: It is also very common for caregivers to feel like they are not doing enough for their loved ones.
• Emotion – Sadness: You may also grieve and feel sadness over what your loved ones are going through, or grieve over your own loss of the future and life you have planned.
• Emotion – Loneliness: You may also feel very alone in your journey or find yourself having less time for other social relationships.

Caring for a loved one can hurt at times. As much as you love your family, it is normal to feel overwhelmed and burnout in the process of caregiving. Understanding your emotions and thoughts may help you better manage the emotional impact of your caregiving journey. Here are some tips for your caregiving journey.

1. Find ways to regulate your emotions: Practise relaxation exercises such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation or mindfulness. You can also find ways to express or let out your emotions through activities such as exercise, journaling, art, or talking to a friend.
2. Balance your daily caregiving duties to minimise stress: List all of your daily caregiving duties in a diary so that you can minimise feeling overwhelmed and stressed out by them. Ask yourself, which tasks do you find meaningful / meaningless, enjoyable / a chore, good at doing / struggle with? Organise your daily caregiving tasks so there is a good balance of meaningful, enjoyable tasks, or tasks that you are good at, with those that you struggle more with.
3. Identify and change your thinking: Identify limiting thoughts that contribute to unhelpful emotions or behaviours. These could be thoughts such as “I CAN’T make any mistakes”, “NO ONE can help me”, or “I’m a BAD caregiver because of a mistake I made”. Try putting these beliefs into perspective and bring more balance to your way of thinking. This could help you gain more adaptability and flexibility.
4. Make time for your own well-being: Prioritise self-care – feeling recharged and refreshed allows you to care better for your loved one. Practise self-awareness and mindfulness, remembering to focus on the present. Remind yourself that life is a learning journey and that it is ok to make mistakes. Communicate your needs and feelings so others can understand how you feel and what help you need. It might also be helpful to talk about your experiences with other caregivers – it is a good way to feel understood, get support and share useful information with one another. Finally, get your own care support network – people whom you feel comfortable to call on for your own emotional support or to provide practical help with different caregiving tasks. Don’t hesitate to speak to a mental health professional if you need to.