Am I a natural caregiver?

1. Do you take care of a loved one suffering from an illness or who is in loss of his or her autonomy an hour or more each day?

2. Have you ever felt anger towards that person because she or he refuses your advice or your help?

3. Do you sometimes have the feeling of not doing enough for the person you care for?

4. Does being a Caregiver create conflicts between you, your spouse and your children?

5. Do you tell people in your family circle that everything is well with you when it is not?

6. Are you forced to miss work or shorten your day’s work?

7. Are you compelled lately to isolate yourself or cut your ties with people to whom you once were close to?

8. Do you experience symptoms related to stress such as insomnia or headaches which you did not experience before?

9. You often have to change your day’s program in order to care for your loved one?

10. Do you sometimes ask yourself if you are not putting too big a burden upon your children?

11. Do you often feel unhappy by the fact that the health of your loved one is not improving?

12. Do you come very close to lashing out at your loved one because there are unsolved issues that are building up between you?

• If you answered « yes » to three questions or less, you are coping very well with the stress of the situation, congratulations!
• If you answered 4 to 7 “yeses”, you need to take action and reduce your amount of tasks if you wish to continue.
• If you answered “yes” to 8 questions or more, you are on the verge of exhaustion.
• If you do not wish to become sick yourself, then you need to get help, from either your doctor, a social worker at the CLSC, a psychotherapist or by joining a support group.