Caregiver Speaker, Elaine K Sanchez, incorporates real-life caregiving stories with practical, applicable strategies for managing the emotional stress of caregiving into her caregiving videos and support group program.

In this article, she describes how Reactionary Depression can be caused by a specific event or set of circumstances.

Recognizing and Dealing With Caregiver Depression 

Depression is common among caregivers as they witness the steady and progressive decline of their care receivers. Caregiver depression can result from stuffing feelings of anger and guilt. It can be difficult to distinguish between depression and grief because the symptoms are similar. Headaches, backaches, digestive disorders, and other physical ailments are often symptoms of caregiver depression and grief.

As caregivers witness the decline of someone they love and as their own lives become more complicated, restrictive, and reclusive, it’s not unusual for them to experience depression. There isn’t one single cause of depression among caregivers or even just one type of depression. It isn’t unusual for someone who is caregiving to experience both reactionary depression and clinical depression.

Signs of depression can include difficulty sleeping, change in eating habits, inability to concentrate, and difficulty making decisions, along with a variety of physical ailments, including headaches, backaches, and various digestive disorders. The good news is that you can work your way through an episode of reactionary depression with conscious effort and a little time.

Clinical Depression is Different

Clinical depression is a medical condition that requires medical treatment. Signs of clinical depression are a sense of hopelessness, despondency, and despair. They cannot imagine anything positive happening in the future, and they experience crushing loneliness, even when they are in the presence of family and friends who love them. 

People suffering from clinical depression often think about suicide. If you or someone you care about experiences these signs and symptoms of clinical depression for more than two weeks, you must seek medical intervention. You cannot eat, smoke, drink, think, talk or pray your way out of clinical depression. It is a medical problem, and recovery requires medication and other interventions.

If you are caring for someone who appears to be clinically depressed, it’s essential to understand that they may not be capable of reaching out for help. You may need to make an appointment with their physician, drive them to the appointment, and then tell the doctor what you have witnessed.

Depression is a debilitating condition. Try to be patient, but don’t let their inertia or resistance stop you from seeking the medical help they need. 

If you or someone you care about is having suicidal thoughts, call 988, the new Suicide Prevention Hotline. 

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People of all ages and stages of life become caregivers. Most of them are not prepared to manage the emotional stress of caring for individuals who are aging, disabled, or living with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and other progressive and degenerative diseases. 

When caregivers have access to the CaregiverHelp Support Group Program, they will recognize that they are not alone. 

The CaregiverHelp Support Group Program can be offered at live, in-person events. It can also be led on Zoom, as a hybrid model, or as a self-paced program. 

Organizations that provide employee support through their Caregiver ERG programs love being able to offer CaregiverHelp Support Group as a self-paced program. 

Also, as baby boomers age, most HR managers are becoming aware that many of their employees are caring for spouses and aging parents. These employees don’t know what to do or where to turn when they are faced with taking over the healthcare and finances of loved ones who can no longer care for themselves. When offered through an Employee Assistance Program, such as a Caregiver EAP, companies may see reduced stress, fewer absences, and a decreased turnover.  

CaregiverHelp Support Group Program will never make caregiving easy. Still, it does provide people with the tools and support they need to make sound decisions, manage their stress, and care for themselves as they try to balance family responsibilities, work, and caregiving.