February 28, 2025

The 10 Signs of Caregiver Burnout—and What to Do About Them

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

In 2021, more than 11 million family members and other unpaid caregivers provided care to individuals with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. These caregivers provided an estimated 16 billion hours of care, with each individual taking on more of the load as the number of caregivers continues to decline. With these numbers comes an increased risk for emotional distress and caregiver burnout.

Whether it’s scheduling appointments, paying bills, planning activities, or managing medications, being a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia can feel like a full-time job. It can also come at a cost to one’s mental and emotional health. A recent study shows that 37% of caregivers for adults report high burnout symptoms, such as cofnitive impairment, emotional impairment, exhaustion and mental distance.

At Brookdale, we recognize that it can be difficult to know when it’s time to ask for help with caregiving. But managing and preventing burnout is important, both for the health of the caregiver and the one they’re caring for. Because of this, we’ve highlighted the 10 signs of caregiver burnout according to the Alzheimer’s Association – and compiled resources on how to prevent and manage it – that you can pass on to your patients and their caregivers.

10 Signs of Caregiver Burnout

1. Denial

It is estimated that 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia. Denial about your loved one’s condition is understandable. Whether you have difficulty accepting an Alzheimer’s diagnosis or adjusting to the idea of long-term care, facing your denial is often the first step to addressing caregiver burnout.

2. Anger

A more subtle sign of caregiver burnout, anger often begins as frustration or disappointment that the person is not getting better. Anger may also surface over your loved one’s inability to do the things they once were able to do, such as driving, getting dressed, or going to the bathroom on their own.

3. Social withdrawal

You may be burnt out if you begin to withdraw from the people you enjoy spending time with or from activities you love to do. Certainly, it’s easy to forego hobbies when you’re busy taking care of someone else. Yet, social withdrawal may be a sign you need to take time for yourself.

4. Anxiety

Thirty-six percent of family caregivers characterize their situation as highly stressful, according to the “Caregiving in the U.S. 2020” report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC). Micro stressors can compound to become chronic anxiety, an indication you may need outside support.

5. Depression

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia can be an emotionally heavy experience. You may even mourn the person they once were before their diagnosis. While symptoms of depression can include difficulty getting out of bed or experiencing feelings of hopelessness, it can also manifest as apathy for taking care of yourself or others.

6. Exhaustion

If you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, you will likely experience exhaustion — and understandably so. Compassion fatigue, which is often the result of witnessing trauma, may also be an early symptom of caregiver burnout, according to a 2019 study.

7. Sleeplessness

In times of stress, it can be difficult to achieve optimum sleep. Sleeplessness may occur as you stay up late worrying about the person you’re caring for or as a result of the behavioral health symptoms that can arise — such as depression and anxiety. If you’re burnt out, you may have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or oversleeping in the morning. It might be time to consult a doctor for medication, supplements, or for other helpful tips for restful sleep.

8. Irritability

Caregiver burnout can lead to persistent feelings of anger and irritability. You may notice you don’t have as much patience for your loved one. In one study of caregivers published in the Journals of Gerontology, higher cortisol – a stress hormone – was associated with this negative mood.

9. Lack of concentration

Caregiving can be a demanding role. Someone with emotional exhaustion may experience changes in cognition and memory, often referred to as “brain fog.” A lack of concentration over daily activities can be dangerous not only for yourself, but for the person you’re caring for.

10. Health problems

One of the biggest indicators of caregiver burnout is a change in your physical health. Whether it’s headaches, muscle tension, weight gain, digestive problems, or high blood pressure, it’s important that you listen to your body when it’s under a lot of stress.

4 Tips to Manage and Prevent Caregiver Burnout

1. Take a Break

The first step to addressing burnout is to take a break. Ask a friend or relative to fill in for you while you do something that you enjoy. It could be going to see a movie, reading your favorite book, or doing your favorite exercise. If you don’t have another family member to step in for you, you can find alternative options through a respite stay. Brookdale Senior Living offers short-term and respite stays and other providers can be found through the National Respite Locator. Whether it’s taking a weeklong getaway or just carving out ten minutes for yourself each hour of the day, remember to pace yourself along the journey that is caregiving.

2. Prioritize Your Wellbeing

In a 2020 report from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, 23 percent of Americans said caregiving had made their own health worse, up from 17 percent in 2015. It’s important to remember that you can’t help others without first helping yourself. Whether it’s going for a daily walk, cooking a well-balanced meal, attending a yoga class, or doing a 5-minute meditation in the middle of your day, remember to prioritize your well-being: body, mind, and spirit. Caregiving can feel isolating, so consider joining a support group in your area.

3. Be Honest—and Realistic

If you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, your schedule is likely filled to the brim with obligations, to-do lists, and errands. Be honest with yourself about the challenges you face, and be realistic about prioritizing what needs to get done first. C. Grace Whiting, president of the National Alliance for Caregiving recently suggested in a Forbes Health article to practice “active coping”— facing a problem and taking one step, no matter how small, to change something in your control. The National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit organization that seeks to support and empower family caregivers. You can find more tips for setting priorities on their website.

4. Ask for Help

The good news is, there are loads of external resources that can help you manage your caregiving duties. Alzheimer’s Association and AARP developed a Community Resource Finder, an online database that helps you find programs, events, and services in your area to engage the person you’re caring for or to find support groups. The Family Caregiver Alliance also provides ample tips and resources for caring for yourself and for your family members. If you need additional services for your loved one, try the Eldercare Locator.

If you’re still experiencing any of the above signs of caregiver burnout as your loved one’s condition progresses, it may be time to consider long term care solutions. Clare Bridge, Brookdale’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care program, serves persons living with early, middle and late stages of dementia through our programming which is built on four pillars: innovation, relationship-rich care, purposeful design and sheltered freedom.

Caregiver burnout is common, but you don’t have to do it alone. If you need support or are interested in learning more about dementia care at Brookdale, contact a representative today.

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