Strategies to Reduce Caregiver Anxiety
**Please seek professional advice if you are having difficulty and feeling anxious or depressed.
To start, there are several important medical issues that can be contributing to how you are feeling. Make an appointment with your personal primary care provider. They can then determine what is best for you. There are a range of therapeutic options that can be very helpful for these types of symptoms. Please don’t suffer in silence. These are some good general strategies you can use, but following the advice of your personal providers is always best.
Step 1: Calm Blue Ocean
The feeling of anxiety is upsetting emotionally of course, but it’s important to understand that those feelings are created by a series of physical reactions to a cascade of stress signals the body receives. In response to a stressful situation heart rate and blood pressure increases, breathing increases, palms can get sweaty. If the symptoms persist you may feel jittery, like you have a tremor, and/or lightheaded or dizzy. Certainly, in an emergency a stress response is helpful but not if it starts happening on a regular basis.
The first step to take if you are feeling anxious is to break the cycle of the stress response. Try these techniques:
Relaxation Breathing
There are many techniques. The basic principle is to SLOW and DEEPEN breathing. Our favorite technique also combines some imagery that is simple and almost universally helpful in stressful situations:
Breathe in through your nose like you are smelling your favorite flower, and
Blow out through your mouth like you are blowing out the candles on a birthday cake
Yoga
Yoga is a “mind-body practice” that combines physical movement and poses, controlled breathing, and meditation or relaxation. As we’ve learned, the practice of controlled breathing adds to its ability to calm the body’s emotional stress while the poses serve to bring physical health.
Our favorite and FREE yogi is Yoga with Adrienne
Tai chi
If you're looking for a way to reduce stress, consider tai chi (TIE-CHEE). Tai chi is a form of exercise that has many benefits to physical and emotional well-being. In addition to helping balance it can help emotional stability. Some call it “meditation in motion. Tai Chi for Beginners is an excellent, free resource.
Step 2: “Talk” and Think Positively!
You have heard about the power of thinking positively, and we will get to that, but first it's helpful to Talk positively as well. To increase emotional comfort, we want your inner voice to be as positive and reassuring as possible. But sometimes we have to work at keeping that inner voice positive.
Devise an affirmation — Affirmations are short, clear, positive statements that send your thoughts into a more positive direction. In this case, choose something that quiets the worry creating the stress. For example, caregivers often have to make decisions for others and can feel stressed about that. Try repeating: “Today, I made the best decisions I could.”
If you are having a particularly stressful day or moment, consider an affirmation “I have the power to be calm."
Guided Meditation- Meditation has been shown to be one of the best tools we have to stabilize our emotions and create the ability to manage the challenges of caregiving. It can certainly be done on your own, but guided meditations literally walk you through a meditation and help you find a calm and peaceful state—one step at a time. Our favorite app for this is Calm.com.
Step 3: Get Moving!
Nothing is worse than sitting still for increasing the tension of anxious moments. Instead, after taking some deep relaxation breaths, take a few moments to get moving just a bit. You don’t even need to break a sweat! Getting your blood moving releases endorphins and can improve your mood almost instantaneously. Endorphins help balance out the body’s stress response.
Walking is THE universal exercise, and it can do wonders here too. A natural stress reliever, especially if you head outdoors. No need to speed walk. Your natural, comfortable pace is just fine. If you cannot take a walk, simple muscle stretches can help bring relief in a stressful situation.
Step 4: Self-Care
The message of “Take Your Oxygen First” is front and center here. There is simply no way to continue as an effective caregiver if your personal emotional state is unstable and unhealthy.
Eat to Live Well
Well-balanced meals and healthy snacks on a regular schedule; limit alcohol and caffeine, which can aggravate anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
Get your ZZZs
Get enough sleep. When stressed, your body needs additional sleep and rest.
Keep em laughing
You cannot be stressed and laugh at the same time! Keep your favorite TV sitcom on your streaming favorites list. Better yet, get their blooper reel on YouTube!
Hum a Tune
Music is known to have a positive effect on the brain and body. It can lower the stress response and helps lower blood pressure.
Write it Out
Journaling, even for just 5 minutes a day, has been shown to relieve stress-related symptoms. Some people use a “gratitude journal” and write 5 things/people/events each day they are “grateful” for.
Please talk with your own/loved one’s healthcare provider before using any of this information.
