As a caregiver providing Senior Care Services in Costa Mesa CA, it's natural to feel overwhelmed and like a personal failure at times. It's important to acknowledge and address any feelings of resentment that may arise. This can help prevent the stress from leading to exhaustion or depression. Others feel anger and resentment on the part of the caregiver. When you act as if providing care is a diversion, you deny the reality of what the universe has presented to you.
You get caught up in what you want and what you want to reject. You think that what you like is part of your trip and that what you don't like should be part of someone else's trip. And you're always thinking about how to go back and get back to the life you think you left behind. But there's only one path for you, which includes everything you've seen and haven't seen in your life.
And you're always in it. Anger and resentment are two common emotions faced by caregivers. However, if you know how to identify them and strive to take action, it's possible to minimize their impact on your responsibilities as a caregiver and on your life. If you're having trouble with the resentment of your caregiver, ask a friend or family member to visit your loved one while you take a short break. Below, we explain in more detail why you might feel resentment as a family caregiver, as well as the ways to mitigate it.
Going from being a daughter to a caregiver or from having a spouse to feeling like you have a patient can also cause feelings of resentment, explains Denise McKnight, a social worker at Novant Health Hospice and Palliative Care in Charlotte, North Carolina. Specifically, it encourages “mindfulness in the present moment (instead of identifying too much with negative feelings) and common humanity, or reaching out to others who can support you (rather than isolating yourself),” Emery said. Resentment is more complex because it occurs over time and incorporates several emotions such as sadness, anger and fear. While these feelings are perfectly normal, they can influence your actions and interactions and affect the quality of care.
When providing 24-hour care, it's normal to feel a wide range of emotions, but if depression, anger, or resentment come into play, it's important to take note. While resentment can be a common and natural side effect of caring for a loved one, it doesn't have to eclipse your experience. When caregiving is a full-time job, it's easy to experience moments of resentment no matter how much you love the person. To make positive changes, it's important to understand the difference between anger and resentment, their underlying causes, and the steps you can take to better control them.
He added: “If you frequently engage in harsh self-criticism because of your feelings of anger or resentment, you may be unintentionally exacerbating them. Accept the feelings that arise and surrender to those moments of happiness and joy that you are and give that to the person you are caring for; or deny what is in front of you, fight against caregiving and everything related to it, worry about what you have to do to resume your normal life, and resentment is likely to arise. If you are a reluctant caregiver and care for a family member more out of obligation than out of love, you may feel resentment for the person you are caring for.
