You’ve probably heard that being a family caregiver is one of the greatest acts of love and kindness. It can be extremely rewarding, including helping to prolong a close parent-child bond and setting an example for the next generation.
Unfortunately, caregiving can also be fraught with unpredictability, anxiety, guilt, hopelessness, and financial burden. Added together, it can become one of the most stressful experiences imaginable. It’s one of the reasons many caregivers are seeking help through journaling.
Today, there are many tools at your disposal to assist you in your role as a family caregiver and to make life easier for your loved one. While books, apps, and community organizations quickly come to mind, journaling is often overlooked. Here are five very good reasons why you shouldn’t do that.
Journaling Boosts Mental Health
Family caregivers are at risk for mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety, especially if their role continues for a long period.
Journaling helps you to acknowledge and clarify your feelings — including a sense of inadequacy or guilt. It helps you to face fears you might have as a caregiver, or feelings about your relationship in general with your loved one.
In a 2006 study, people were asked to journal or draw about a stressful event for at least 15 minutes twice a week. They experienced a significant reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as hostility compared to those who were asked to draw.
It’s also important to note that writing is frequently prescribed for people experiencing depression.
Journaling Assists Problem Solving
Caregiving can be an ongoing exercise in problem-solving and crises, which further adds to the stress you endure. Stress affects the brain — your problem-solving centre — in many ways. It impairs your focus, ability to process information and working memory.
During a crisis, your emotions are also heightened and you can become easily distracted and reactive without giving a situation full consideration.
Journaling can help you to step back from whatever problem you are facing. It allows you to take time to process the information you have in a calmer, more engaged and rational manner.
Journaling Might Boost Your Immune System
Stress is notorious for compromising the immune system. It reduces the number of lymphocyte cells in the body that attack and kill viruses.
More research is needed on the benefits of journaling for immunity. However, a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that participants who received a hepatitis B vaccine and booster shots and journalled benefited more from the vaccines.
A more recent study found that participants who journaled for about 20 minutes a day on traumatic or daily events healed quicker from a biopsy than those who didn’t journal.
Journaling Can Help You Cope with Grief
This is one of the benefits of writing that has long been acknowledged. For caregivers, it takes on even greater significance.
Grief is a natural outcome when your loved one you have cared so much for dies. For many caregivers, this is the end to their journey with their loved one.
Many other caregivers find themselves watching their loved ones decline physically, or mentally as with dementia. In the latter case, many caregivers feel it is like watching their loved ones pass away even though they are still alive. It causes profound grief that can last for years, depending on how long their loved one lives with the disease.
In some cases, a care recipient might become extremely difficult as they age. It can be from coping with pain, anger at their loss of independence, or even a fear of dying. As a result, a caregiver who once had very good relationships with their loved one finds that the relationship has deteriorated, sometimes beyond repair. It’s another source of tremendous grief.
There are many stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance, for instance. Writing provides an accessible and healthy outlet for the emotions you go through at each stage.
It is sometimes easier to write what you feel than to speak it aloud to anyone. You can feel free to write whatever you feel without judgment or recrimination from anyone.
Also, sometimes you are overwhelmed with a jumble of emotions all at once. Writing can be a meditative process. It can stimulate mindfulness and help you to slow down so you can unpack what you are feeling.
Journaling is Budget-friendly
Journaling is one of the most budget-friendly tools or resources you have at your disposal to cope more effectively as a caregiver.
Finding economical caregiving tools is essential because financial burden is one of caregivers’ biggest worries. Many caregivers already reduce their work hours, take leaves of absence, are absent from work, or turn down promotions. All of these significantly reduce their income. On top of that, many also financially support their loved ones.
For journaling, you just need a piece of paper (even a napkin) and a pen or marker to get started. However, you can purchase a journal at a dollar store or use a notepad from work.
You might also consider getting in on the bullet journaling trend. It takes journaling to the next level. You can add drawings, mindscapes, reminders, or even create a vision board to outline your goals as a caregiver.
A Journaling Challenge
Journaling is not about being able to write lovely prose, witty insights, or perfect spelling and grammar. So don’t let those misconceptions intimidate you or deter you from trying to journal. Here are some quick ways to get started:
- What is a big problem you are currently facing in your caregiver role? Write down as many possible ways to resolve it as you can think of.
- What made you feel really happy recently about being a caregiver?
- What do you personally want to get out of your caregiving role? List at least three things.
- Was there something your loved one said to you recently that is resting on your mind? Why? Is there something you can do about it?
- What causes you the most stress as a caregiver?
- Which relationships — family, workplace, community, healthcare — do you have to work on more or build so you can be a more effective caregiver?
- How well are you setting boundaries as a caregiver? Do you even have any?
- What skills, experience or natural abilities do you already have that will make caregiving easier?
- What do you have planned for self-care?
- Did you practice gratitude recently, even in the face of all the responsibilities you have as a caregiver?
