According to research done by the National Alliance for Caregiving, more than 1 in 5 Americans provides care for a loved one. For many people, caring for a family member so they can remain in their own home — or yours — is a labor of love, but it does pose challenges. You may have to set aside your personal needs to take on multiple roles, such as nurse, housekeeper and cook, which can take a toll on your mental and physical health. Whether you’re currently caring for a loved one or you’ve just started thinking about taking on that responsibility for an aging family member, let’s look at seven common challenges and how respite care can help you face them.

Seven Challenges Facing Caregivers

The demands facing family caregivers can vary, depending on the severity of a loved one's condition, the age and health of the caregiver and whether they're the sole caregiver or share the responsibility. However, if you're regularly providing care for an aging or disabled loved one, you're likely to experience one or more of these seven common challenges.

1. Time management: Caregiving can be time-consuming, and managing time effectively can feel impossible. As a caregiver, you'll likely spend most of your time making sure your loved one’s needs are met. Consequently, you may struggle to balance those responsibilities with work schedules and personal chores, such as paying bills and cleaning your own home. In an attempt to better manage their time, many caregivers also neglect personal relationships and sacrifice activities they once enjoyed, such as hobbies or vacations.
2. Financial stress: If you’re like most familial caregivers, you probably don’t receive pay for your services, and you may have to spend your own money on supplies and other care-related expenses. For some caregivers, accommodating a loved one’s increasing care needs may also mean having to reduce working hours at their paid job — or giving it up completely — which can cause additional financial duress.
3. Lack of medical resources: Professional assistance, even if it's just a consultation, can be prohibitively expensive. If you don’t have medical training or ready access to affordable resources, it can be hard to make health care decisions or navigate complex medical situations.
4. Isolation: Taking care of a loved one can occupy a large portion of each day and may keep you from taking part in celebrations and other social activities with family, friends and colleagues. As a result, you may begin to feel isolated. In some cases, extreme feelings of isolation can lead to depression.
5. Lack of familial support: In many cases, a spouse, sibling or child becomes the sole caregiver of an aging or disabled loved one. If that caregiver is you, you may feel like your family member’s care is your responsibility alone, making it difficult to ask for help or support.
6. Personal health concerns: If you’re a caregiver, keeping yourself in good mental and physical health is one of the greatest challenges you’ll face. Caregiving can be physically strenuous, particularly if lifting is required due to a loved one’s mobility issues. Caring for ailing family members can also take an emotional toll, and stress and anxiety can make it difficult to fall or stay asleep, leading to additional health problems.
7. Burnout: If you’re devoting all your time and energy to caring for a loved one, you'll eventually become physically and mentally exhausted. This is known as caregiver burnout, and it may be accompanied by intense feelings of guilt. Ultimately, burnout can lead to an inability to care for both your loved one and yourself.

How Respite Care Can Help

If you aren't ready to move your loved one into an assisted living community but need time off from caregiving responsibilities, respite care can be lifesaving. These short-term services, which are specifically meant to assist family caregivers who need help, can relieve you from caregiving responsibilities for several hours or up to several weeks. Some respite care services can also be scheduled weekly, biweekly or monthly, so you'll regularly get time off to attend to personal matters or just relax.

In fact, you may want to consider respite care services for your loved one if you:

• Are experiencing caregiver burnout
• Want an afternoon off each week
• Plan on traveling
• Have urgent errands to run
• Experience an emergency
• Have to attend a celebration or social event
• Are ill or injured
• Need time for yourself

Whatever the reason, by seeking respite care services, you can take the time you need to care for yourself, so you’ll be able to better care for your loved one in the long run.

Depending on their needs, your loved one can receive respite care in an adult daycare, in a skilled nursing or assisted living community or in the comfort of their own home. Most respite workers are trained caregivers, so you can rest easy leaving your loved one under their supervision. Plus, besides assisting with your loved one’s personal care activities and attending to their medical needs, some respite services may also include laundry, light housekeeping and meal preparation.

If your loved one is considering a move to assisted living, such as a faith-based assisted living community that's part of the Bethesda Senior Living Communities family, residential respite services can also be a great way to let your loved one experience this vibrant lifestyle before making a commitment.

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