We take care of our elderly family members out of love and responsibility. But taking care of the elder can be very stressful and everyone experiences difficulty doing it at some point. The population of older adults is growing and many are receiving inadequate care. The proportion that need assistance with their activities of daily living (ADLs) and impaired activities of daily living (IADLs) is increasing disproportionally.

Studies have shown that up to 1 in 4 elderly have impaired ADLs/IADL with persons over 65. That number rises to 40% of men and 53% of women over 85. These impaired individuals require caregivers, who are up to 28.5 percent of the U.S. adult population. Roughly 65.7 million people, were providing unpaid care to an adult relative in 2009. That number has grown since then.

Taking care of the elderly causes stress. Up to 66.6% of unpaid caregivers for older adults reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health symptom related to their role. Caregivers are at times overwhelmed.

Ensure that when you take care of someone, you take care of yourself. This can be as straight forward as improving the care environment to taking a day for yourself. The care environment can be improved through better home lighting, bathroom rails and house ramps. This improves elder self reliance and health, decreasing the burden of care. Using home health devices like the EZ Bedpan for bathroom needs can make taking care of basic necessities easier.

Taking a step back and a day off is not selfish, but sometimes necessary to be able to take care of others.