THE ROLE OF A PRIMARY CAREGIVER.

Being responsible for caring for another person's needs is not a simple task. In this blog, I will be explaining the importance of therapy for a person who is in a caregiving role.

To make it brief, who is a primary caregiver?

A primary caregiver is a person who is responsible for caring for another person's needs, their day to day tasks like preparing meals, giving medications as prescribed and also assisting them to lead their lives with dignity.

There are certain challenges which a caregiver faces over time. To name a few, caregiving concerns can range from

1. Fear and anxiety - dealing with ‘What if’s’, ‘What if I am nor around and something goes wrong?’, ‘What if I make mistakes?’
2. Experiencing isolation - not being able to share with anyone thinking ‘what people might think about us/ me’
3. Feeling guilty - considering yourself responsible for the situation or not doing enough to take care of the other person
4. Feeling fatigued - constant feeling of being tiredness and wanting to run to a calmer place
5. Anger and resentment - being unappreciated or being constantly nagged by the ‘other person’ can lead to extreme anger or do something which you would normally not choose
6. Grief - one of the most difficult emotion to handle is when someone dies however this emotion is actually a result of loss and should not be connected with guilt or self doubt

To solve this problem, in recent times, providing training to caregivers, in line with community integration has been widely spoken about.

Psychotherapy as a listening community and beyond

Caregiving, in general, is a demanding job, sometimes caregivers do require support and guidance. The idea is that ‘you don't have to feel alone’. Psychotherapy assists you with the required skills and support to engage yourselves in self-care and achieve emotional stability

To emphasize this further, according to a research conducted in Aims, Uttarakhand, 24% of caregivers providing care to patients with various psychiatric illnesses reported moderate depression (Rathaliya, Ruchi, Varghese and Kumar, Research gate)

Prioritizing your mental health and taking time to satisfy your needs, whenever you feel it's required doesn't underestimate the caregiving role. It's for equipping you and maintaining your own well being.

If you are a caregiver or know someone who is into a caregiving role. Kindly, do reach out to Manoshala.

By

Bhavya P, Counselling Psychologist, ManoShala