Live-in carers sometimes find that they or their clients become depressed. Because of the nature of the job, depression is far more common than most people realize. Live-in care work can be lonely and extremely stressful, particularly if you find yourself in an isolated placement with little contact with other people.
Certainly, the responsibility of caring for someone, while being away from your own family and friends may leave you feeling down and lonely.
While many carers will have an agency with support staff that they can talk to, it is also a fact that many carers choose not to do this for fear that the agency thinks they are not coping very well.
Bottling up signs of depression is never a good thing, and there are several ways to handle depression, without even talking to your agency, if you prefer not to.
Some signs to look for:
If you find that you are experiencing some of these issues, then you may want to accept the fact that you are depressed. With the coronavirus, it is not surprising that many carers feel depressed at one point or another.
What is important is that you realise that there are some things you can do to improve this issue and make you feel better.
What can I do?
Talk
This is the fastest way to start feeling better. Talk to your friends or call your family. If you need to, talk to the GP. Even the District Nurse will listen to you and offer advice to help you. The key word here is that you talk to someone. It is not a good idea to keep things bottled up.
There are several forums on social media platforms where you can post and ask advice. You may be surprised to see that you are not the only person feeling depressed. This is a good way to hear how other carers are dealing with their depression.
Set limits
It is a well-known fact that carers often take on too much. We feel that we are invincible and can do anything and everything. Sooner or later we become depressed when we do not finish all those tasks we have set for ourselves.
Ask family to take care of doing your online shopping. While we all like a clean house, with only yourself and your client, it may not be essential to clean every room every day. Leave the rooms you don’t use regularly. They don’t need vacuuming daily. Believe that it is ok to say ‘no’ to some things.
Watch your diet
In order to feel better and work effectively, you need a healthy diet. Simply cutting out one item each day that is not nutritious will soon get you into a routine of eating more healthy food and less junk foods like cookies and crisps. You will feel better for setting small goals which are easy to achieve.
Keep smiling
Laughter truly is the best medicine. Watch a funny movie. If you can do this with your client, even better. Read a light-hearted book. Sombre, dark books will simply influence your gloomy feelings. Listen to some happy music while you work.
To sum up
Letting go of unrealistic expectations is a good start to handling your own depression. Carers often set themselves goals which they rarely achieve. This leads to frustration and a feeling that you cannot do your job properly.
Accept help. This may come from friends and family in the form of emails and calls, or it may come from family offering to take some of the workload from you.
Don’t be a martyr. At the end of the day, you need to stay at your best, both physically and mentally in order to do your job well.
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