'Never give from the depths of your well, but from your overflow” Rumi
Providing caregiving comes with many challenges and self care for the caregiver is so important. As professional care givers, there is training and support in the form of Self care for carers established by Karen Brennan. You may find useful resources there but what I want to delve into is how to support volunteer or family carers. This is a topic close to my heart lately and I have spoken to many people who are now carers for loved ones at home to put this piece together.The De-Stress study, which was carried out last year by researchers at Trinity and funded by the Health Research Board and The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, revealed that depression and anxiety were common among family carers.
Other research, conducted by the Royal College of Psychiatry and the Carers Association - now Family Carers Ireland - showed higher levels of depression and anxiety among carers than their peers who are non-carers.
More than 50pc of carers surveyed had a significant mental health problem in this 2009 report. It also showed that women who spend nine hours or more caring per week double their risk of heart disease, while elderly carers, aged 66-96, who experience care-related stress, have a 63pc higher mortality rate than non-carers.