PETALING JAYA: Caregiver burnout rarely happens overnight. The warning signs can be subtle, from exhaustion and poor sleep to irritability, anxiety, withdrawal and even mistakes at work.
Prof Dr Tan Maw Pin, head of geriatric medicine at Universiti Malaya, said caregivers might also begin neglecting their own medical appointments or feel they cannot leave the person they cared for alone.
Feeling trapped, resentful, helpless or unable to cope could be another warning sign.
“These feelings do not mean that the caregiver is uncaring. They usually mean that the demands have exceeded the person’s physical, emotional or financial capacity,” she said.
If ignored, she said caregiver strain can contribute to depression, anxiety, burnout and worsening chronic illnesses.
“Exhaustion may also increase the risk of accidents, medication errors and conflict.
“When the caregiver collapses, the entire care arrangement may collapse with them,” Dr Tan said.
She urged families to share responsibilities rather than expecting one person to cope with all the duties alone.
“One person may accompany the older person to appointments, another may manage finances or medications, while others contribute to meals, transport, household work or the cost of paid assistance,” she said.
Respite, she added, should be planned before a caregiver reaches breaking point.
“Respite should not be regarded as a reward after someone has reached breaking point. It should be a planned and routine part of sustainable caregiving,” she said.
Dr Tan said prolonged caregiving could also affect income, career progression and retirement security, particularly when caregivers reduced their working hours or left employment.
Senior consultant occupational therapist Prof Nathan Vytialingam said caregivers could gradually abandon their own routines, leisure and self-care.
“Sometimes they become so routine in caring that they abandon themselves along the way,” he said.
Working caregivers could take more medical leave or be physically present at work while mentally distracted by their caregiving duties – a phenomenon known as “presenteeism”, he said.
Nathan, who is Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society president, said sharing the load was important, while caregivers should avoid taking over tasks that older people could still perform themselves.
“That’s not good caregiving. You love the person; that’s why you want the person to be independent and move around,” he said.
