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Caregiver Support: Signs & Symptoms of Depression

Caregivers provide emotional support and assistance to elderly or disabled friends and family. Although caregiving doesn't cause depression, caregivers can suffer from the medical condition. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA), an estimated 44 million Americans over the age of 18 provide unpaid assistance and support to people, and 40 to 70 percent of them have significant symptoms of depression.

  1. Feelings

    • Caregivers can feel many different emotions when they suffer from symptoms of depression. For instance, caregivers may feel guilt, blame, hopelessness and sadness. These emotions may start as low-level sadness that lingers for months without disappearing or increasing. Or caregivers' feelings may happen suddenly and become very intense. Depression may last longer than two weeks, and the sadness can vary over time from low to intense. Another sign of depression is becoming easily frustrated, irritable, angered or agitated, according to the FCA. These feelings cause caregivers to believe that nothing they do is good enough for anyone---including the people they are taking care of.

    Changes

    • Caregivers will notice some signs regarding their appetite. Depression causes people's appetites to decrease as well as weight loss, according to the Mayo Clinic. Depression may also cause weight gain and a constant craving for food. Another sign caregivers will notice is a change in sleeping habits. They may suffer from insomnia or continually wake up during the night. Also, caregivers can become so exhausted that they sleep excessively and are always tired. Even small tasks such as washing dishes or walking from one room to another can become tiring and take a lot effort, according to the Mayo Clinic. Some caregivers may notice signs such as pacing, constantly needing to walk around or hand-wringing.

    Thoughts

    • Another sign of depression in caregivers is lack of interest. This can affect activities they love to do or people such as family and friends. Caregivers can also suffer from medical conditions that doctors can't diagnose or treat and symptoms that won't go away. According to the FCA, symptoms that won't respond to treatment include digestive disorders, back pain, chronic pain and headaches. Also, caregivers' thoughts often focus on past failures and the opportunities they missed. Caregivers suffering from depression may have thoughts of dying and suicide. Sometimes these suicidal thoughts may lead to suicide attempts.

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