Healthy Living
Get Support If You're a Caregiver
The Basics
Overview
When you're taking care of a loved one, it’s important to care for yourself, too. The emotional and physical stress of caregiving can cause health problems — so get the support you need to take care of your own health.
What is a caregiver?
A caregiver is someone who helps a family member, friend, or neighbor who is sick or has a disability. An informal or family caregiver often helps a loved one with basic daily tasks.
You may be a caregiver if you regularly help someone with:
- Grocery shopping and cooking
- Housework
- Getting dressed
- Taking and keeping track of medicine
- Medical care, like keeping wounds clean or giving shots
- Transportation, like car rides to appointments
- Managing personal services, like talking to doctors or paying bills
About 1 in 4 adults in the United States are caregivers. Most caregivers also have other jobs and spend an average of 24 hours a week caring for a loved one.
Caregiver Stress
The stress of caregiving can lead to health problems.
When you're caring for a loved one, it can be hard to take care of your own health. Caregivers are more at risk of getting sick — like with a cold or the flu. They're also more likely to have long-term health problems — like arthritis, diabetes, or depression.
You may have caregiver stress if you:
- Feel angry or sad
- Feel like taking care of your loved one is more than you can handle
- Feel like you don't have time to care for yourself
- Sleep too much or too little
- Notice a change in your eating habits
- Lose interest in things you used to enjoy
Find out more about caregiver stress
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The good news is that you can lower your risk for health problems if you take care of yourself and get support.
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