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Heavy Lies the Caregiving Stress

Written by Heatscape Psychology intern, Valeree Soh


The struggles of people experiencing mental health conditions are real, but so are the struggles of those who care for them. Caregiver burden, defined as the emotional or physical tension felt by caregivers (Mosley et al., 2017), was rarely spoken about till recent years. Now, increasing amounts of effort are directed towards increasing the awareness of this, as well as the support for caregivers. In Singapore, caregiver support networks such as CAREconnect (CareConnect, n.d.) exist to help people navigate the complexities of caregiving. They provide support in terms of providing resources, administrative services, and more. Financial support like the Caregiver Training Grant (HealthHub, 2023) is also available to enable caregivers the opportunity to attend courses aimed at teaching them skills to care for their loved ones at home. However, most of these are aimed at the elderly. What about support for caregivers of individuals suffering from mental health conditions?





Mental disorders are typically characterised by the experience of clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. According to the Global Burden of Disease study (IMHE, 2019), an estimated 970 million people were living with a mental disorder in 2019. To put it into the Singapore context, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) estimates that there were more than 430,000 adults in Singapore with common mental health disorders in 2021. Imagine if each of these individuals had at least one caregiver or a person they rely on frequently for support. That would make another 430,000 people.


On top of that, to meet caregiving responsibilities, caregivers have to make the conscious decision to give of themselves daily. It is no wonder that they often undergo a tremendous amount of emotional and mental stress. Is it possible that they themselves experience symptoms of mental health conditions but are unaware of it, categorising their stress as part of the normal experience of life? Mitsonis et al. (2012) describes caregiving distress as emotional suffering in response to stressors. This could involve feelings of guilt, hopelessness, and even loss. Indeed, heavy lies the burden that lies on their shoulders. 


To care for people experiencing mental health conditions, especially if severe, caregivers often have to assist them with emotional support, daily living, functional recovery, and the like (Awad & Voruganti, 2008). Essentially, this means that caregivers have to be on the ball 24/7, constantly monitoring mental states, ensuring treatment is being followed (if necessary), keeping an eye out for signs of relapse… The list is endless. Paramount to their “job scope” is emotional caregiving. As a trusted person in the life of an individual with a mental health condition, caregivers often provide a listening ear to problems that they face. This could also be followed up with offering encouragement and comfort, which requires one to be attentive in listening and genuine in holding space. 


As the Singapore government and relevant agencies continue to expand the perimeters of the caregiver support networks to include caregivers of persons with mental health conditions, what can we (as laypersons) do?


  1. Ask how they are doing! Sometimes, a listening ear is all they need. They might need reminders that there are people around them who are concerned for their wellbeing, and who acknowledge that they are having a difficult time too. 

  2. Offer them a helping hand

Do you see them struggling at work? Are they in need of assistance to run errands? Ask if you can lend them a helping hand! Every little act counts towards lightening their load.

  1. Invite them on outings

If you’re doing something fun, why not invite them along if there is someone available to help them with caregiving for the day? Caregivers need social interaction with their own friends too, and they could probably use a breather from time to time. 


There is a proverb that goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In essence, it means that to promote the positive growth of children, an entire community of people have to be present to support them. Tweaking it to fit the context of mental health, it can go something like, “It takes a village to support mental health.” We’re not just supporting individuals who experience mental health conditions, but we are supporting the concept of mental health in general. Whoever that involves, implicates, or includes, we want to be there for them. Mental health affects us all, and the experience and provision of care are not things only those people should shoulder alone. Let us go forth in love and empathy, to put ourselves in the shoes of caregivers and support them even as they support their loved ones with mental health conditions. 


If you’re interested, click on the links below to watch a couple of videos that may provide you with a better understanding of the caregiving scene in Singapore :)




References

CareConnect. (n.d.). Home - CareConnect by SG Assist. https://careconnect.sg/ 

HealthHub. (2023). Caregivers Training Grant (CTG). https://www.healthhub.sg/a-z/costs-and-financing/caregivers-training-grant-ctg 


IMHE. (2019). GBD results. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/ 



 
 
 

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