There are many intrinsic rewards of caregiving. Having to care for an aging parent is something many of us avoid thinking about. We assume caregiving is going to be stressful and take a toll on our own health. However, this article in NPR discusses how caregiving can be truly rewarding and may even offer surprising benefits to the caregiver’s health. There were 3,503 participants in this study on caregiving. Only 17 percent of caregivers claimed to have high levels of caregiving stress and it also showed that family caregivers were 18 percent less likely to die over the next six years.
Caregiving is not always a piece of cake. Yet high levels of stress caused by caregiving is not the typical experience, according to this study. It can depend on many variables, such as if the parent being cared for has dementia or another progressive disease. This can cause more grief and stress, due to the nature of the disease. The experience is often more positive if the loved one being cared for is recovering from something like a stroke and there is an end in sight to the care being provided.
But what really makes life better for family caregivers? Leah Eskinazi is part of the Family Caregiver Alliance based in San Francisco. She reports that many adults of aging parents experience the rewards of caregiving. They feel that they are giving back to mom or dad. There is fulfillment knowing that their parent was there for them when they were younger and now it is their turn. Caring for an aging parent can potentially heal past conflicts. The rewards of caregiving can also be experienced by the one being cared for as it gives them a chance to say thank you and express gratitude.