In our blog posts, we’ve discussed the warning signs of caregiver burnout, as well as how to combat it and prevent it from happening altogether. We’ve also discussed the causes of caregiver burnout and how prevalent it is. Burnout can be triggered by various things—often just from a caregiver's regular workload, but sometimes there are events that can cause burnout, one of those being caring for your loved one after a hospital stay. In today’s blog post, we’ll discuss why exactly this happens and how to help prevent it.
When a loved one is hospitalized, families immediately shift into crisis mode. Your focus is solely on your loved one and their needs, their medications, and all the information you’re being bombarded with by doctors and nurses. You can forget to take adequate care of yourself when you’re so busy worrying about someone else. Running on pure adrenaline and often neglecting the basic steps of self-care can easily result in caregiver burnout before the responsibilities of caring have even fallen on you.
When they come home, and you are now their designated caregiver, and you must take care of them around the clock, with no help or guidance from nurses or doctors, burnout can begin.
As we’ve stated many times before, and will likely again in the future, caregiving is no easy task. It takes a toll on your physical and mental health, which is why it’s so important to prioritize self-care so you can effectively care for others.
The Hidden Turning Point: After a Hospital Stay
Most people assume caregiving stress builds slowly over time. But for many families, the true breaking point starts immediately after a hospital discharge.
While your loved one was in the hospital, there was structure and consistent help from trained professionals, helping to handle medication and monitor symptoms. Now the responsibility has fallen on you to do all of this and to be there right when needed. This can be an overwhelming and difficult transition for anyone, but especially someone who is not a professional/trained or experienced caregiver.
You’ve become their nurse, medication manager, mobility assistant, and transportation provider all in an instant. That is enough stress and pressure to make anyone feel burned out, so rest assured that you are not alone! We are not here to tell you that you are wrong or should feel ashamed for feeling burned out; we want to help you to know that you do not have to deal with all of these pressures by yourself!
It can be incredibly challenging to find, build, and maintain a sense of structure by yourself, and that’s where we are here to help! We understand that as a family caregiver, you have other duties and responsibilities, including managing your job, your children, and your own life. This transition can be emotionally and physically intense and oftentimes frustrating, but this is a phase where you can—and should—reach out for extra help, guidance, and support.
Why Stress Spikes After Discharge:
It is no surprise that one's stress would spike after a loved one's discharge from the hospital. The responsibility for care has now shifted entirely onto you—that’s overwhelming and is understandably hard to navigate.
Caring for a loved one after discharge can also sometimes involve things becoming more challenging than before. Whether the hospital stay was due to a fall, an illness, or a surgery, your loved one is coming home a different version of themselves with different needs. They may need more care coming out of the hospital than they did going in, and that’s okay, but it can be hard to manage, and you may feel unprepared for how intense the level of care that is required is.
Sometimes, when facing these new challenges, you may just try to push through and make things work as is, not seeking any outside help. This decision can be made on your own or decided by other people or family members. Temporary care, however, can often turn into long-term commitments and thus long-term strain if you don’t have the right resources in your arsenal.
Remember: caregiver burnout is a signal that something more needs to be done, not a sign of failure. It’s simply your body’s way of saying you can’t keep going on the way you are currently. Taking the time to care for yourself is important, and recognizing that moment and asking for support is an act of self-care.
When and How to Seek Help:
Caregiver burnout is nothing to feel ashamed of—it’s common, understandable, treatable, and preventable! Being overwhelmed and feeling symptoms of burnout does not make you a failure, and you shouldn’t feel guilty because of it. You’re overwhelmed, and that makes sense, but you should also remember that you aren’t alone—at least, you don’t have to be!
Looking for a solution to your care needs after dealing with a large transition, such as navigating the changes after a hospital stay, can be made easy with the help of Senior Industry Services and Oasis Senior Advisors of Austin and Central Texas.
Reaching out for support with a trusted senior advisor at Oasis can help you to better understand your needs and the options available to you to help meet them!
For families in the Central Texas region, Senior Industry Services and Oasis Senior Advisors work together to help make Central Texas the best place for seniors to age. We do that by supporting you with tools, information, resources, and guidance for senior care options.
Whatever you need, we are here to help and support you—you don’t have to figure this out alone!
Written for Senior Industry Services by Lauren Hope Bartling