Caregiving is stressful and also a risk factor for depression: Study

Being a caregiver to an aging parent or spouse can cause stress, but a new study done by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin questions the idea that family caregiving can also be a risk factor for depression. Caregiving is the act of providing support and assistance to those who need it and is essential not only for the well-being and survival of care recipients but also for embodying a fundamental human experience that reflects qualities like empathy, responsibility, etc. The study showed that depression in adult caregivers mostly occurs when a loved one experiencing serious health problems while becoming a caregiver is connected with fewer symptoms of depression.

Being a caregiver

“Many years of research explore that there are both positive and negative aspects of becoming a caregiver,” said Sae Hwang Han.
It’s broadly assumed the negatives far outweigh the positives, and that caregiving is a chronic stressor that contributes to worse health and well-being. But the evidence doesn’t always confirm the truth.

Based on recent studies, it is found that caregivers live longer than non-caregivers. Many caregivers describe caregiving as a positive experience that gives them meaning and purpose. These contradictions forced Han to conduct the study. “Most previous studies begin by identifying caregivers and comparing their well-being to non-caregivers,” said Han.

“However, living with a loved one undergo a serious health issue in later life is itself a very devastating event.” It is very surprising that studies have found a rising risk of depression among caregivers as compared to non-caregivers, who often do not have serious health problems in the family. That’s a misleading comparison, just as it would be misleading to compare the well-being of someone going through chemotherapy to someone who does not have cancer.

What study found?

A study was conducted by Han in which he went behind a group of adult children over the age of 50 who had a living mother.
During the study, he found changes in the mental health of the mothers who became disabled and adopted various mental health problems or were cognitively impaired. Due to these issues, the adult children became caregivers.

The adult children become more depressed because their mother’s health gets worse. Studies found no reason or evidence for becoming a caregiver worsened their depression. “Adult children became more depressed in response to their mothers’ health issues and suggested that there is something protective about being able to help others we care about” Han and his colleagues conducted a study in 2021 to explore that spouses providing caregiving to their partners also showed similar effects.

There is no debate that caregiving can be a very stressful and depressive event, while a few stressful experiences can also make you stronger and help you grow.