Roles and Responsibilities of the Caregiver

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“You can’t care for someone else if you don’t know how to take care of yourself!”
– A caregiver from Hamilton, ON

Caregiver Wellness

How are you managing? Caregivers may experience stress that can impact their health. It is important to recognize when you, the caregiver, are feeling this way. Identifying and talking about stress are the first steps to feeling better.

The following are some common warning signs of stress. Do any of these statements sound familiar to you?

• “I am not sleeping well”
• “I have no time to do things that I want to do for myself”
• “I don’t have any time to socialize”
• “I feel guilty if I don’t meet my own expectations”
• “I have not left the home in a long time”
• “I argue a lot more with the person I care for or with other people I am close to”
• “Thinking about money makes me feel worried”
• “Sometimes I feel like I don’t know what I am doing and that I am not doing a good enough job as a caregiver”
• “I am starting to get sick more often”
• “I feel like I am at the end of my rope”

If one or more of these statements sound like you some or most of the time, you may be experiencing caregiver stress. Activity 1.2

Try a Tool

The Ontario Caregiver Organization offers a quiz that encourages reflection on how you are feeling about the level of stress in your life. You can take the quiz here: Check In On You

The Ontario Caregiver Organization also offers a Caregiver Checklist that guides you in identifying and assessing your caregiving responsibilities and prioritizes areas where you may need support.