How Caregiving Can Change Your Personality

There’s no getting around it: being a family caregiver is bound to impact how you think and who you are as a person. Taking on this high-stress role that is both physically and mentally demanding can be transformative, especially when you consider that the average duration of caregiving is 4.5 years. Some members of the caregiver forum worry that their personality changes are largely negative. Certainly, stress, exhaustion, and overwhelming responsibilities can take a serious toll on one’s physical and mental health. Caregiver burnout is notorious for sneaking up on even the most organized and level-headed individual. But, if you learn to manage the caregiver burden instead of letting it consume you, the risk of developing lasting negative traits like anxiety, depression, and agitation is greatly reduced. In fact, many proactive caregivers notice that they’ve developed some beneficial attributes and coping methods thanks to their experiences in elder care. How your personality might change throughout this journey depends, of course, on your unique attitude, your openness to change, the feelings you have for the person you are caring for, and the state of your own physical and mental health. ow Caregiving Affects Different Personality Types The following examples illustrate how certain personality types can be transformed, both negatively and positively, by caregiving. The Take-Charge Personality: For people who instinctively seek control in most situations, caregi...
Source: Minding Our Elders - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: blogs