Chapter 2: As care needs increase

Managing stress and anxiety

It creates anxiety when you’re “on” all the time and have to be hypervigilant. You’re so tired; it’s terribly tiring.

While caregiving can be a rewarding experience, it can also affect the caregiver’s physical, mental, and emotional health. Everyone feels stressed sometimes, but long or intense periods of stress can be extremely hard on your physical and mental health.

You may feel different levels of stress throughout the caregiving experience, and stress may increase as the person’s illness progresses.

Assess Your Stress Quiz

Click here to view a list of questions to help you check your level of stress. Your answers may change and be different on different days, so come back to this module to re-answer the questions.

What may help

Everyone deals with anxiety and stress in their own way. Click below for some strategies you might try
 

Relaxation strategies can help you shift your attention to the present and use your body’s natural ability to calm itself. *For detailed information on relaxation strategies, please refer to the Relaxation strategies PDF below.

Helpful resources