Caregiver Support
Are You Collapsing Under The Weight Of Caring For A Family Member?
Has your role as a caregiver for a loved one become overwhelming?
With so much of your days and nights spent tending to their needs, do you have little time left to care for yourself?
Are you ashamed to admit that at times, you can’t help but lose your patience or resent your loved one’s reliance on you for everything?
Despite having no training or experience with caretaking, perhaps circumstances beyond your control have thrust you into this role, turning your life upside down. In addition to reckoning with the emotional toll of your loved one’s declining health, you’ve been tasked with caring for them around the clock. This sudden lifestyle change has thrown everything out of balance, causing anxiety, depression, and both physical and emotional exhaustion.
No One Prepared You For This
Becoming a caregiver without experience is like being dropped off in an unknown city without a map. Not only is it up to you to figure out how to navigate all aspects of your loved one’s care, but you also have to find time to keep your own life running. Under these circumstances, it’s easy to feel like you’re losing yourself.
As much as you hate to admit it, there may be times when all your patience is gone, and you express anger or hostility toward your loved one. Or maybe you feel guilty every time you leave them alone, concerned that you should be doing more. You’re worn thin when your head finally hits the pillow, but know tomorrow will be more of the same.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed as a caregiver, CBT Treatment Center offers comprehensive support and therapy. We can help you combat compassion fatigue while also providing valuable education and resources so you can manage caregiving more effectively.
When You’re Caring For A Loved One, You Can’t “Clock Out”
As the Baby Boomer generation ages and affordable care options become scarcer, an increasing number of family members find themselves in caretaking roles. In just over a decade, the number of family caregivers regularly assisting older adults with daily activities at home grew by 32 percent, increasing from 18.2 million to 24.1 million between 2011 and 2022.
Unlike paid professionals, family caregivers are unpaid and undervalued in our society. As the “sandwich generation,” we often must navigate between our parenting duties and caregiving duties, with no formal education, training, or support. We commonly find ourselves working around the clock with few breaks, giving us no time to recharge.
Compassion Fatigue Is A Concern For Family Caretakers
It’s no surprise that, under these conditions, many caregivers experience compassion fatigue—emotional and physical burnout —that can lead to a lack of empathy for our loved one. It’s a taboo subject that few are comfortable talking about, but its implications are significant. Without proper boundaries, caregivers risk running themselves into the ground.
The good news is that support for caregivers is available. In sessions, we can help you formulate a workable plan that gives you time to take care of yourself and refill your cup.
Caregiver Support Can Help You Restore Balance
When it comes to caring for family members, normal boundaries often don’t apply. Perhaps you made a promise to your parents or spouse that you would never move them into a facility, but have realized that the amount of care they require is beyond your capabilities. It’s okay to admit that you’re in over your head and need help—in fact, it’s critical to your well-being and the welfare of your loved one.
Support for caregivers offers customized guidance for individuals and other family members grappling with what may seem like an impossible situation. Our team has the training and experience to help you with your emotions, such as grief, anger, frustration, and burnout.
We can also impart caregiving and communication skills, teach strategies to cope with stress more effectively, and guide you to free or affordable resources that offer a respite from your current duties. More than anything, we offer hope.
What To Expect In Sessions
Caregiver support begins by normalizing your experience, helping you process the emotions you’re dealing with, and providing a safe space to talk about the difficult moments you’ve encountered. We will also assess the impact caregiving has had on your mental and physical health and help you develop more consistent self-care practices.
In caregiver counseling, we also provide education about your loved one’s condition so you know what to expect about their long-term prognosis and treatment plan. For example, if you’re caring for someone with dementia, we can help you track its progression and prepare you for bouts of agitation or aggression that often occur. Knowledge is power that can help you plan accordingly.
Your therapist can also help facilitate the tough conversations families need to have to discuss when it’s appropriate—and often essential—to look into external resources. We welcome other family members into sessions to tackle these thorny issues with a professional who can help guide the conversation productively. Your therapist will also ensure you develop a “cope ahead” plan to anticipate future challenges you will face.
Caregiver Stress Management
As a family caregiver, knowing how to manage stress is vital. We begin with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that challenges inaccurate beliefs you may have about caregiving, like, “I must be available to my loved one any time they need me,” or, “I’m a terrible person for losing my temper.” These thoughts perpetuate guilt and shame, preventing self-care and self-compassion. Correcting them helps you face your situation with more clarity and identify solutions.
In addition to somatic and body-based interventions such as deep-paced breathing and mindfulness exercises, we may also draw on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for emotional regulation skills that calm the nervous system. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps you accept the reality of the situation and the limits you have as a caregiver. ACT allows emotions like grief and anger to arise without judgment, giving space for uncertainty and doubt.
You do not have to take on caregiving alone—there are resources available to help you. Over time, receiving emotional support for caregivers can help you develop a new normal and a vision for what a well-balanced life could look like, like learning healthy boundaries and making time to take care of yourself. With caregiver support, you can rediscover yourself and get back the vitality for life you might have lost.
You May Wonder Whether Caregiver Support Is Right For You…
I don’t have time for counseling for caregivers.
Given how busy you are as a caretaker, you may think there isn’t enough time in the day to receive support for yourself. However, if you don’t maintain your own physical and emotional wellness, how can you expect to show up for your loved one?
If you’re experiencing compassion fatigue, you need someone who understands and empathizes with your situation. This is why we offer specialized support tailored to the needs of family caregivers. When you care for others, it’s worth making the time to care for yourself, too.
Going to counseling won’t change my circumstances, so why bother?.
While it’s true that receiving emotional support for caregivers won’t change your situation or make your loved one better, it can help you cope with an extremely difficult situation. By providing you with a safe space to discuss your challenges and learn better coping and self-care skills, counseling for caregivers can improve how you feel—and you deserve that.
As a caregiver, I can’t afford to receive professional support.
Understandably, it’s hard to think about paying for therapy when you’re not getting paid for the caretaking you do. Despite caregiver support seeming like an unaffordable luxury, keep in mind that your physical and mental health are vital to being able to continue caretaking your loved one. Investing in therapy could make all the difference in how well you cope with this challenging situation and maintain your sense of self.
As A Devoted Caregiver, You Deserve Support
To take care of your loved one, you must first take care of yourself. To schedule a free consultation to learn more about caregiver support, either in-person or online, please call: (424) 262-2014.
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