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Caregivers & Anxiety

The National Alliance for Caregiving, in collaboration with the AARP, reports that more than 65 million people, 29 percent of the U.S. population, spend approximately 20 hours per week providing care for family members or friends during any given year. Women make up three out of four of those people caring for a loved one, and research suggests that anxiety significantly impacts one in three family caregivers.

  1. The Facts

    • Anxiety runs higher among people who have previously served as caregivers to family members than those providing care for the first time. In those circumstances--and especially among women--merely the anticipation of providing care triggers anxiety, according to a study reported in the "Journal of Women & Aging" in January 2001. Additionally, caregivers with poor health or limited incomes experience higher levels of anxiety than those with better health and/or more money.

    Signs & Symptoms

    • Symptoms and feelings of stress appear in the form of anxiety. If left untreated, the stressors that produce anxiety can compromise a person's overall health and well-being. Symptoms associated with anxiety range from physical to mental to emotional. The most-reported symptoms include difficult-to-control worry, loss of sleep, exhaustion or fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability and inappropriate anger, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance, which can lead to feelings of guilt, isolation and a belief that "no one understands."

    Considerations

    • Caregivers often withdraw from family and friends, the Family Caregiver Alliance says, and reluctance in asking for and accepting help becomes a major barrier to getting necessary respite and support. University College London researchers studying coping and anxiety among caregivers see isolating behaviors as "dysfunctional coping strategies" getting in the way of solutions that could provide relief.

    Interventions

    • While much remains unknown about the relationship of anxiety with coping strategies, brief group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions for caregivers offer hope. CBT helps anxious caregivers replace stress-induced patterns of thinking and behaving with more positive and healthful patterns. Increased feelings of calm and peace among CBT participants, psychologist Thomas A. Richards says, "crowd out" symptoms of anxiety and fear. On a more grassroots level, caregivers and those with previous experience as caregivers have formed neighborhood "clubs" in some parts of the U.S. to help each other cope, writes Patti Ahern on SouthtownStar.com.

    Potential

    • Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston recommend additional study with diverse caregiving groups to further investigate the effectiveness of CBT group interventions. Closer to home, neighbors, friends and other loved ones can do much to help by recognizing signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety among caregivers, and stepping in to lend a hand or a listening ear.

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