Caregiver Burnout: They need more than permission torest

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

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Michelle Martin (0:16)

All right, so, you know, if you're a caregiver, you're constantly in high vigilant mode, right? You're thinking, has mom eaten?

Is dad safe?

Are my children okay? What if something happens when I'm not there? And so for many caregivers, just stepping away for a couple of hours can be hard. They have their own work deadlines, their own medical appointments, other people's medical appointments, sleepless nights, worrying, wondering. Again, it's all about hypervigilance, right? And they often put their own well-being last. So I came across findings from the Caregiving Welfare Association's ongoing caregiver experience survey. These are interim findings, and they show that 93.2% of respondents have experienced or expect to experience caregiver overwhelm.

More than half of respondents say they are balancing their caregiving with work.

Almost 50% or almost 45%, I should say, describe their well-being as only fair or poor. That's a lot of people out there. So why is it that caregivers often wait until they're close to them and learn out before they ask for help? Well, I think that's quite obvious actually. They feel the need to be strong and to go on for the people around them. But how can families make time out from caregiving part of the normal journey of being a caregiver? How can families work together as systems to allow that to happen? Steven Yeo is Executive Director of the Caregiving Welfare Association. I was so happy to learn about this group. They've been around since 2004, so they're 22 years old, two beneficiaries that they focus their mission on seniors and caregivers. They want to help the seniors, and then they want to help the people who help the seniors, the caregivers. So they're all about empowerment and a great resource for home-based care. I understand for seniors who have no one to look after them, this group will send community caregivers to them. Just love being in Singapore and how we make this all happen. So time to say welcome to Steven Yeo, who's Executive Director of the Caregiving Welfare Association. Good morning, Steven.

Steven Yeo (2:22)

Good morning. Thank you for having me.

Michelle Martin (2:24)

And how's your welfare today? You feeling, you know, fair, good? How are you feeling today, Steven?

Steven Yeo (2:29)

Pretty exciting and also pretty nervous. First time on your show.

Michelle Martin (2:34)

It's going to be great. That's the first time for everything. So, let's talk about caregiving burnout. What are some of the first signs that a caregiver might be approaching that burnout phase?

Steven Yeo (2:45)

Caregiver burnout does not always begin with a dramatic breakdown.

So, some of the early signs that you actually can spot is things like people have high emotion, right? So, they have physical pain because they have been taking care of their loved ones over a period of time. And they will have pain over on their body, whether it be the back of their neck or the shoulder or even just the back. That is also, they are easily irritated.

Michelle Martin (3:13)

Mmm, that's a great one.

Steven Yeo (3:15)

Anger, anger management, they feel angry, they feel tired, they feel guilt.

They think that they have not done enough. So, these are some of the things that will be happen, that they can spot. But other things also able to actually, signs that shows you like change in weight, not necessarily losing weight, it can be also put on weight, right? Because of the stress that they have and the things that they have been doing. They have no time to eat properly, no time to eat regularly. So, that is one way of changing their weight, changing sleep patterns.

That is another thing to look up for. And last but not least, withdrawal.

Socially? So, withdrawal from things. So, they want to recite, they want to do things on their own. They don't want to talk to people, right? So, a caregiver, sometimes when you see that they are still going to work, and they are completing also their daily tasks. But that doesn't mean that, okay, they are okay. Outside, they are looking okay, but they are trying to cope with it. But what matters is that whether is this become a pattern of their life, that eventually, that take a tour on their health, on their work, on their relationship, and also, very importantly, the ability to provide care safely. So, that's something that we need to look up for.

So, the earlier families and friends that notice this sign should actually take some action. And it will be easy for them to adjust the care arrangement, some share responsibilities along the way, and also seek support before the exhaustion becomes a crisis.