You might feel as if you don’t have any room for anger at all as a caregiver and that can be true to an extent. Anger itself isn’t really the problem. It’s how you respond to those feelings of anger that really matters. Examining your anger can be the right answer.

Anger Is Normal, but Not Always Helpful

Anger is a normal human emotion. It’s not even a bad emotion unless you’re using your anger as a weapon against someone else. Anger can give you a little extra emphasis when you’re trying to solve a problem, for example, but if you veer over into rage, it’s not as helpful. If you’re experiencing anger because caregiving is difficult or because your senior is dealing with unfair situations, that’s still in the unhelpful category. You need to learn how to channel your anger in appropriate ways so that it doesn’t take over.

Start Recognizing Your Physical Signs of Anger
Anger has some signs you probably know well, like your face feels hot or you start to raise your voice. But there are some physical signs that can show up well before those signs do. You might get headaches or stomachaches, for instance, before you notice you’re angry. Or you might start to feel as if you need to pace or throw things. That means you’re experiencing an adrenaline rush, which also shows up a little bit before you realize you’re angry.

Get Familiar with Your Anger Triggers
When you understand your triggers, you can start to look at the whole anger process from a slightly different perspective. You might start to realize that inefficiency makes you angrier now than it ever did in the past. Or maybe you feel out of control because you can’t fix the problems your senior is facing. These are potential triggers you can start to learn to manage before you get to full-blown anger.

Find Other Sources of Help
It’s not easy to manage anger, especially if it’s been building for a while. Talking to a therapist you trust can really help. You might want to look for a counselor who has experience in helping caregivers to deal with their feelings, because they’ll have experience with exactly what you’re going through.
Being a caregiver is often a thankless task. There’s a lot to do and a lot of emotional baggage that goes along with the job. All of that can be a perfect mixing bowl for you to feel angry a lot more than you’re used to feeling that sort of emotion.

Excerpt: Are you angry more often than you used to be? It’s common for caregivers.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a Caregiver in Simpsonville, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas.

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Edward Harrison

Founder at Heart of the Carolinas

Edward Harrison founded the Heart of the Carolinas Homecare in 2007 when he saw there was a need for caregivers that provide non-medical home care services, at a price that most people could afford. It was standard in the industry to require hourly minimums and it was common to be assigned a caregiver, not matched with one based on your individual personal needs. Edward understood that to make a successful relationship between caregiver and client, skills were not enough, personality and compatibility plays as much a role as do skills.

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