Mental Health and Wellness

Caregiving can often have a significant impact on the life of the caregiver in more ways than one. It can make maintaining your physical and mental health more difficult and may put a strain on work and social life. It’s important for caregivers to take care of their own mental health.

Providing care for a loved one can be rewarding but also stressful. It’s important that while caregivers are providing care to others, they don’t ignore their own physical, mental and social health needs. Explore the resources available for respite, mental health care and support groups.

Designed to guide unpaid friends, family and neighbors who care for someone with a mental health condition. Fact sheets included are intended to assist these caregivers with finding help.

Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that happens while you’re taking care of someone else. Stressed caregivers may experience fatigue, anxiety and depression. You can reduce your risk of burnout by participating in respite care, joining a support group or talking with a mental health professional.

When you're taking care of a loved one, it’s important to care for yourself, too. The emotional and physical stress of being a caregiver can cause health problems — so get the support you need to take care of your own health.

It is important to remember that the unique challenges that come from helping a loved one with a mental or substance use disorder can be taxing, so caregivers should take steps to prioritize their own health as well.

"After my partner was brutally beaten on the street, I became one of the many thousands of Americans caring someone with PTSD - and our relationship changed forever."

As many as 1.4 million children in the United States from age 8 to 18 care for a chronically ill or disabled relative, according to a 2005 survey by the United Hospital Fund and the National Alliance for Caregiving. Children provide companionship, run errands and balance checkbooks. Some change feeding tubes or adult diapers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in early 2021 that 34.1 percent of Americans 18 and older are either caring for an adult or juggling the care of both adults and children; in another poll, 60 percent of first-time caregivers were millennials or Gen Z. An unprecedented number of people in their 30S (and to a lesser degree, 20s) are entering what the social-work scholar Dorothy A. Miller once called a "peculiar position" in the modern American nuclear family, between the care they give to their aging parent and to their children.

Practical tips for managing stress, building support networks, and improving mental health.
If you're a caregiver, no one needs to tell you how demanding it can be. Caregiving takes a toll on your emotional and physical well-being. While caring for a loved one with a chronic illness can feel rewarding, for many caregivers, it's stressful and overwhelming, which can lead to depression and other mental and physical health concerns.

Caring for loved ones struggling with disease, advanced age, or both takes a toll, as do so many aspects of life. These candid, informative, practical, and inspiring memoirs and guides address the demands on caregivers and the need for self-care for everyone.