April 23, 2025 • 25 mins
In Episode 12: Mental Health & Caregivers of A Way Forward Podcast | Presented by Beem Credit Union, hosts Jessica Samuels and Mike Gawliuk, CEO of CMHA Kelowna, explore the realities of mental health and caregiving. As millions of Canadians provide unpaid care to loved ones, the toll on caregivers—especially family caregivers—is growing. Jessica and Mike unpack new data, share personal stories, and offer guidance for those dealing with this often-invisible situation.
Key Topics Discussed:
Who is a caregiver?
Defining the broad range of caregiving roles: professional, family, and volunteer caregivers.
The unpaid care crisis in Canada
5.7 billion unpaid hours of care are provided annually—valued at over $97 billion.
Aging population = Rising demand
With an aging demographic, caregiving needs are set to double—impacting both unpaid and professional caregiving systems.
Mental health impacts of caregiving
Caregivers often experience fatigue, stress, financial strain, and social isolation. Jessica and Mike discuss both the rewarding and difficult aspects of caregiving.
Caregiver burnout and what to watch for
Learn to recognize early signs of burnout: low mood, sleep issues, appetite changes, and increased substance use.
Strategies for self-care & support
Tips include accepting help, seeking respite care, connecting with others, and using caregiver assessments to monitor your own well-being.
Global examples of caregiver support
Countries like the UK, Germany, and Australia offer caregiver allowances, respite care, and training programs—what can Canada learn?
Key Takeaways:
- Caregiving is everywhere – 1 in 4 Canadians are caregivers; this will rise to 1 in 2.
- Most care is unpaid – Over $97B worth of unpaid caregiving in Canada annually.
- Older caregivers are rising – Many are 65+ and need care themselves.
- Canada lags in supports – Other countries offer stipends, respite, training.
- Caregiver burnout is real – Watch for sleep/mood changes, withdrawal, overwhelm.
- Marginalized groups hit harder – Racialized, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQIA+ caregivers face extra barriers.
- Support is available – Use tools, groups, and respite services to cope.
Resources:
Caregiver stats
https://canadiancaregiving.org/sage-magazine-fall-2024-issue-caregivers-need-support-now/
https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/2649-more-half-women-canada-are-caregivers
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200108/dq200108a-eng.htm
What it means to be a caregiver
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9225-caregiver-burnout
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica Samuels (00:00):
Hello, I'm Jessica Samuels, and welcome to
(00:02):
A Way Forward presented by BeamCredit Union. I'd like to
acknowledge that this podcasttakes place on the ancestral
traditional and unceded lands ofthe Okanagan Silix people. My co
host CMHA Klona CEO Mike Golicand I are going to talk about
mental health and caregiving.We're going to dig into the
details of a recent caregiversmental health survey. And we're
(00:25):
also going to talk about thingsthat you should watch out for
with your own mental healthwhile you're taking care of
others.
Mike, the definition of acaregiver can be quite broad,
but let's take a stab at it.What does it mean to be a
caregiver?
Mike Gawliuk (00:43):
So a caregiver is somebody that offers support,
care and assistance to thosethat need it most, whether
that's supporting an elderlyparent, a person with
disabilities, someoneexperiencing or recovering from
an illness or those strugglingwith mental health issues,
caregivers provide emotional andphysical support that enhances
(01:04):
quality of life.
Jessica Samuels (01:06):
And what's also interesting and embedded within
what you just said that is thatthere's actually different
categories of caregivers. And sothere's the professional
caregivers, which I think somefolks might jump to right away.
Right. And those are the folkswho paid to do it. That's the
simplest way to explain that.
(01:27):
They're certified and they'reemployed in that endeavor.
There's the family caregivers,which was embedded in what you
just said there as well.Parents, spouses, children,
siblings. And then there's thevolunteer caregivers. You know,
I think when we wereexperiencing pandemic, and we
talked a lot about the mentalhealth of the professional
(01:51):
caregivers.
So that one category I wastalking about, rightly so. We
had folks who were on the frontlines managing this incredible
health crisis. And it'simportant to continue to talk
about the work that professionalcaregivers do and the mental
health supports that they need.For the purposes of today, we're
going to talk about really thefolks that fall into that middle
(02:14):
category, which is the familycaregivers. And this is
interesting because these arefolks who are not necessarily
trained to be in this role.
They're not paid to be in thisrole. And this is on top of
oftentimes regular life stuffand regular jobs. So we're going
to dig into that a little bit. Acouple of stats here. You know,
(02:37):
I always have a few stats that Ihave to have to read.
Approximately 5,700,000,000unpaid hours in Canada are being
offered by caregivers. Fivepoint seven billion unpaid
hours. That equates to97,100,000,000 in the value of
work, unpaid work. So these aredollars that are unpaid. This is
(03:00):
the type of work that the familyand volunteer caregivers are
giving.
This is significant. Sounds likeit's unsustainable. So this is
where I hand it over to you. Iknow that we had a recent survey
and discussions about it, butreally the mental health of
caregivers has to be addressed.
Mike Gawliuk (03:19):
Well, absolutely. And certainly for organizations
that are in this space, andwe'll talk about a little bit
about them. They've kind ofidentified the tidal wave that's
coming because there's apopulation of boomers that
haven't hit necessarily the agewhere they're going to need a
level of care.
Jessica Samuels (03:39):
And
Mike Gawliuk (03:41):
basically, at this point in time, the data say that
basically there's 8,000,000Canadians that care for family
and friends. That's one out ofevery four people. That's going
to continue to increase to thepoint where it's going to be one
out of every two. And when wetalked about the dollar value in
(04:07):
regards to that in preparing forthis, one of the things that I
identified was that for every $1that goes out for paid
caregiving, dollars 3 are usedon with families that's unpaid.
And so it's ultimately verysignificant.
Jessica Samuels (04:28):
What's interesting to me, as you just
demonstrated in that fact aswell, is that we're talking
about when we go back to thatprofessional caregiving and
overburdened system, which we'vementioned several times. But if
we're talking about one versusthree here, there's an
overburdened system of theunpaid folks, but that is not
(04:49):
sustainable. And when we talkabout the emerging ers, we talk
about most caregivers, is orsorry, not most, one in five
caregivers are at or over theage of 65. I feel like this is
going to spill out into thatprofessional caregiving category
and further impact a system thatjust doesn't seem like it'll be
(05:12):
able to bear it.
Mike Gawliuk (05:14):
I think that's the concern. And, you know, the
Canadian Centre for CaregivingExcellence has really focused
energy on that. They're anorganization that supports and
empowers caregivers and careproviders, advances the
knowledge and capacity of thecaregiving field. So that's also
(05:34):
for paid givers, paidcaregivers, but also advocate
for effective and visionarysocial policy policy. And a year
ago released a document whichwas a bit of a, you know, a
bellwether and a canary in thecoal mine of this is the
(05:55):
situation that we're in.
And if something significantisn't done, we're in we're in
big trouble. Right. And so, aswith a number of the issues that
we talk about on this podcast,there's a higher level policy
and government response that'srequired. Certainly for those
(06:17):
caregivers that are doing it dayto day, there's the things that
they need to pay attention to interms of taking care of
themselves. And we'll talk aboutthat.
But also wanted to point outthat there actually are some
countries that have caregiverstrategies that are far more
(06:38):
advanced and evolved than ourour system. So we have a staff
person who is a family navigatorwho works at Foundry and is from
The UK and has had extensiveexperience supporting caregivers
in The UK. Certainly what sheidentified was that Australia,
(07:00):
Germany and UK are leading theway and how they're doing so is
that on an economic from aneconomic standpoint, if people
aren't necessarily able to workbecause they're caregiving,
that's a problem. Familycaregivers that provide over a
certain number of hours per weekof care get a caregiver
(07:22):
allowance. So they're actuallygetting some financial support
for their work.
That respite care is available.And respite care is again one of
those strategies for thecaregivers to take care of
themselves in the face of theircaregiving role. And there is
also, because you mentionedagain, people not necessarily
(07:45):
having training or education inthis. There's education and
training grants available forcaregivers to learn more and to
enhance their skills. And thenone of the things and we see it
in Kelowna with a project likeFoundry or the Family Connection
(08:05):
Centre in The UK, most citieshave caregiver hubs, and that's
really where that people canaccess support around connection
to services.
There's caregiver groups andactivities. They can apply for
benefits and the completion ofcaregiver assessments. So there
(08:25):
is good work that's being doneelsewhere that certainly could
be replicated and ways of, youknow, addressing some of the
challenges that that happen forcaregivers.
Jessica Samuels (08:38):
Right. Another distinction I'd like to make,
and it just made me think of itthere when you were talking, is
that we oftentimes, you and I onthis podcast, have talked about
caregivers as it relates tofamily of young people. So
caregivers of young people. Andduring the research for this, it
was really interesting to me howthis and what we're going to get
(09:02):
into about the mental health ofcaregivers that next little It's
different when you are acaregiverparent, so of a young
person. Not saying it's nothard, there's not challenges,
and there's there are supportsystems and networks out there,
you just gave examples ofearlier.
The difference between being aparent caregiver versus somebody
(09:25):
who is aging, who has a chronicillness, or what have you, is
that when you're a caregiver asa parent or of a young person,
young person, generallyspeaking, is improving each day.
Growing. Maybe improving is notthe right word. They're growing.
They're getting older.
They're becoming more selfsufficient. In terms of, think
(09:50):
of a baby to a toddler to ayouth to, and so there's that
idea that you see change andimprovement. And so your role as
a caregiver becomes different.And sometimes, you know, is
weighted differently. Whenyou're a caregiver of an older
person, are individuals who arechronic illness or near end of
(10:12):
life, it is different.
It is not the same, becausethere is not an opportunity for
that improvement or selfsufficiency. Perhaps you're a
long term caregiver of somebodywho has an illness, maybe that
will come. But maybe that's notgoing to come for five or six
(10:36):
years down the road. And thatwas a really interesting
distinction for me. As somebodywho's kind of been in that
category of supporting folks inmy life who are older adults,
and supporting folks in my lifewho have had episodes and
periods of injury, long episodesor continuous episodes of injury
(10:58):
or illness.
It's tough out there.
Mike Gawliuk (11:02):
100%.
Jessica Samuels (11:04):
And so let's talk about the mental health,
all of that a long explanationto say, let's talk about the
mental health, the mental healthimpacts of being a caregiver.
Let's start off with it can berewarding. Certainly, don't want
to have this doom and gloomperspective. It can be a very
rewarding experience.
Mike Gawliuk (11:20):
Yeah. Well, and I look at my own personal
experience and my caregivingexperience with my father, who
passed away a couple of yearsago, was very short. Like he
moved down with me. He lived inmy home and I had to undertake
some caregiving responsibilitiesuntil he passed. And I can just
(11:44):
say that experience, as sure asit was, certainly makes me see
like the multiple challengesthat comes with caregiving.
But yes, there are positivesthat come from it. One study
actually identified that forsome caregivers, caregiving
(12:04):
actually extends their lifespan.Other benefits just include
increased self esteem, thegratitude and recognition that
they receive from carerecipients and and how that can
strengthen the relationshipbetween the caregiver and the
(12:25):
person that they're caring for.So it's not all bad, but it is
there is a heavy load andthere's a lot of things that
impact caregivers on thenegative side of the ledger. And
and those are some of the thingsthat we want to identify and
then talk about how people mightbe able to address that.
Jessica Samuels (12:46):
Yeah, well, let's do that as well, because I
think, I don't, you know, puttoo much of my own opinion in
this, but I having, you know,when you're in those situations
and maybe you can identify thesame if you feel like you're
full up with your job, life,caregiving, you feel like you
(13:07):
don't have time for thosepieces, those other pieces, like
if you can get to bed at areasonable time and get up at a
reasonable time, remember tohave something to eat. That's a
win. But you need more than thatto manage your mental health.
Mike Gawliuk (13:20):
Oh, for sure. I remember sitting in this room
doing an interview with aprospective staff member when my
phone went off and it was thelife alert system and saying,
Oh, by the way, your dad'sfallen. I had excused myself
from the interview because therewas nobody else that could go.
And I had to go up to the houseand see if he was Okay and then
(13:42):
get him back up and moving.Right.
And so, yeah, it impacts thingsconsiderably. When you talk
about the the CCE and some ofthe work they've done and
caregivers and sort of sendingthe alarms signals, they've
identified some stats that areconcerning. So they identified
(14:05):
that one in four caregiversreport fair or poor mental
health, that there's increasedfatigue, anxiety and sense of
overwhelmed because of thosecare responsibilities. We talked
(14:26):
about those that are seniorsthat are caregivers who may also
require care and are the leastlikely to access supports or
services to help with theirresponsibilities. And one of the
tolls that and we sort oftouched on it briefly, it takes
(14:47):
is that one of the most commonimpacts for people is around the
financial toll that caregivingtakes.
And half of the caregivers thatthey surveyed had faced
financial stress in the pastyear. Right.
Jessica Samuels (15:05):
And just by you saying that, I hear come back to
what you said earlier. You know,think about those European
countries that have financialsupports and repayment in that.
So really, that would be anincredible thing for us to have
here. That financial toll is isa heavy burden. With it comes
with its own mental healthimpacts.
Mike Gawliuk (15:21):
For sure. And then when you look at diverse
communities, there's additionalgaps on top of that. So
racialized, Indigenous, LGB2Siplus are more likely to
experience negative aspects ofcare. And half of racialized
(15:44):
caregivers have faced financialhardship. So again, when we look
at the impact overall,significant and and and it's
concerning, which is why it'simportant for organizations like
the CCC to exist and advocatestrongly for government to to
(16:06):
invest and make this a priority.
But in the meantime, you're acaregiver. You're you're
experiencing some of thechallenges. What do you do?
Jessica Samuels (16:17):
Right. First, actually, before, what do you
do? I think it's recognizingwhat, what you're feeling
recognizing what's going on,because I, I'm worried that you
might get into a cycle of beingtired and down and just think it
comes with the job comes withthe role. And it might be it's a
tough role. But don't justaccept it and think that it's
(16:39):
okay.
So recognizing what you know,those typical things, that we
have talked about before when itcomes to low mood or depression
or not feeling not feeling likeyourself, sleeping more not at
all, you know, not eating oreating differently, eating more
use of substances, alcohol, moreor less. Those things where you
(17:03):
just know that you're not notthe same.
Mike Gawliuk (17:06):
Yeah, you're not yourself, for sure. I think you
make a good point. I thinkthere's a level of awareness
around the impact that can thatcan come with that. I would say
when you're caring for someoneelse and it's that that airplane
(17:30):
analogy, right? When the maskdrops from the ceiling, put
yours on first before you put onthe other person's.
And there's again variousstrategies that you can utilize
to try to take care of yourselfbefore it gets to the point of
burnout, before it gets to thepoint where you have to seek out
(17:54):
therapy, medication, those kindsof things. And they're pretty
straightforward, but they mightbe challenging for some based on
circumstances. Simply in in somecases, take some time for
yourself where you can, because,again, it can be all
(18:14):
encompassing. Ask for and accepthelp for assistance with daily
activities.
Jessica Samuels (18:23):
That second part, that accepting help is
such an interesting point,right? Yeah. Like, that's that's
kind of like, no, I've got this.This is my burden. This is my
mom, aunt, partner, you know, tomanage.
It's I don't want to put thatburden on somebody else to do
it, but it's such a criticalpiece.
Mike Gawliuk (18:44):
Well, and that shared responsibility hopefully
keeps everybody healthier. Ofcourse, we always talk about get
connected, become aware ofcaregiving resources in your
area, and that could include anynumber of things, including like
(19:05):
classes or ride services, mealdelivery, housecleaning
services, those kinds of things.So familiarize yourself with
those in order to see what youcan put in place.
Jessica Samuels (19:18):
Consider
Mike Gawliuk (19:20):
joining a support group, right? In some cases, you
might feel like you're the onlyperson in the world that's
having this experience. And whenyou get together with others
that are having similarexperiences, it's a good way,
first of all, to socialize andrelate. And it's a step you can
(19:41):
take in, you know, again, careof yourself.
Jessica Samuels (19:47):
Yeah. One other point I was going to make along
those lines was that oftentimesif you're caregiving for an
individual that has a specificillness or something like that,
there's also specific caregivergroups associated with that
Mike Gawliuk (20:06):
specific illness.
Jessica Samuels (20:08):
Yeah. So, you know, Alzheimer's cancer, a lot
of folks think about theirsupport groups like that.
Mike Gawliuk (20:14):
Yep. And we'll mention a couple of resources, a
couple of other things, ifpossible, finding respite care,
getting some time away just toreally focus on some self care
is important. I think whenthings become overwhelming, when
(20:39):
some of those symptoms thatstart to show up around
depression, I think one of thethings that you see take place
is people sometimes tend tosocially isolate. That's that's
really. The last thing that youwant to be doing,
Jessica Samuels (20:59):
the opposite of what you should
Mike Gawliuk (21:00):
be doing, really, ideally staying connected with
family and friends again, if ifthere's one thing we'll get from
a way forward is the importanceand the power of connection and
what a difference that can makefor people. And that's
absolutely important. And then,of course, there's the basics.
(21:22):
Try to take care of your yourhealth, right? And that comes
down to trying to get enoughsleep, eating healthy,
exercising, those kinds ofthings that help us to to stay
well.
Jessica Samuels (21:35):
Right. Okay, good practices. Let's go back to
some of those resources as well.So you mentioned Foundry. While
we're in this conversation, youdid talk about CC CE, and they
have a ton of even links tocaregiving or different
resources on their website
Mike Gawliuk (21:52):
as So, I mean, of course, in preparing this,
taking a look like like. All thedifferent resources that are
available that would appearacross the country, whether it's
a specific for somethingspecific, like you say, like
Alzheimer's or cancers orwhatever it is, there's like a
huge list of resources. You cango there. It's really a one stop
(22:17):
shop to take a look at what youcan match up with and find some
of the assistance. There's alsoinformation and resources that
are available to help educateThe the other one that that is
is available is FamilyCaregivers BC.
(22:40):
And I went and took a look lastnight. They have an online
caregiver assessment. And Iwould say from from doing it,
just experiencing it, anyonethat gets into a caregiver role
doing that assessment would besuper helpful because it leads
to some of the points that we'vealready talked about. Right. And
(23:02):
certain situations where, youknow, things are going to look a
certain way now, but they maythose may change with time and
and it provides information.
And again, there's resources onthere. There's podcasts, there's
other information. So that isalso a wealth of resource for
caregivers. For me, the thingthat stood out was the caregiver
(23:23):
assessment. In terms of gettinga sense of where you're at and
where you might be able to go,that's an excellent step to
take.
Jessica Samuels (23:32):
Right. Don't wait till you're burnt out.
Don't wait till you can't takeit anymore Before you do that
assessment, don't self assessbefore you take the assessment.
Why don't you go out and see,you know, early intervention
prevention, those preventativemeasures that we always talk
about, they also apply to you asa caregiver, you can, you know,
support yourself early so thatyou don't reach rock bottom
Mike Gawliuk (23:54):
for sure. And there's there's lots of tips and
tricks like we talked about. Andthen there's also also
information and things in there,like when you have to navigate
the formal care system,
Jessica Samuels (24:05):
right,
Mike Gawliuk (24:05):
which isn't always particularly easy. And so
resources that are helpful interms of helping to educate
people on how to do that. And socertainly I would encourage
people to to to check thoseresources out as a great
starting point to get connectedwith supports and information
(24:26):
that they need that might helpto make their experience of
caregiving a little bit lessstressful and allow them to take
care of themselves as they doit.
Jessica Samuels (24:35):
Thanks so much, Mike.
Mike Gawliuk (24:36):
Thank you.
Jessica Samuels (24:37):
Okay, so we just rattled off quite a few
resources there. We are going toadd those in the show notes. We
are also going to, of course,add them to the A Way Forward
presented by Beam Credit Unionpodcast page. And that is at
cmhkolona.org. Really take sometime to check them out, even if
(25:00):
you just know somebody or you'rejust wondering where you are at
at your caregiver journey.
And of course, as always, in themeantime, please do take good
care. Beam Credit Union supportsmental health initiatives across
British Columbia because caringfor each other builds stronger,
more connected communities.United has won. Beam's founding
(25:20):
credit unions now serve 190,000members across BC.
Hello, I'm Jessica Samuels, and welcome to
(00:02):
A Way Forward presented by BeamCredit Union. I'd like to
acknowledge that this podcasttakes place on the ancestral
traditional and unceded lands ofthe Okanagan Silix people. My co
host CMHA Klona CEO Mike Golicand I are going to talk about
mental health and caregiving.We're going to dig into the
details of a recent caregiversmental health survey. And we're
(00:25):
also going to talk about thingsthat you should watch out for
with your own mental healthwhile you're taking care of
others.
Mike, the definition of acaregiver can be quite broad,
but let's take a stab at it.What does it mean to be a
caregiver?
Mike Gawliuk (00:43):
So a caregiver is somebody that offers support,
care and assistance to thosethat need it most, whether
that's supporting an elderlyparent, a person with
disabilities, someoneexperiencing or recovering from
an illness or those strugglingwith mental health issues,
caregivers provide emotional andphysical support that enhances
(01:04):
quality of life.
Jessica Samuels (01:06):
And what's also interesting and embedded within
what you just said that is thatthere's actually different
categories of caregivers. And sothere's the professional
caregivers, which I think somefolks might jump to right away.
Right. And those are the folkswho paid to do it. That's the
simplest way to explain that.
(01:27):
They're certified and they'reemployed in that endeavor.
There's the family caregivers,which was embedded in what you
just said there as well.Parents, spouses, children,
siblings. And then there's thevolunteer caregivers. You know,
I think when we wereexperiencing pandemic, and we
talked a lot about the mentalhealth of the professional
(01:51):
caregivers.
So that one category I wastalking about, rightly so. We
had folks who were on the frontlines managing this incredible
health crisis. And it'simportant to continue to talk
about the work that professionalcaregivers do and the mental
health supports that they need.For the purposes of today, we're
going to talk about really thefolks that fall into that middle
(02:14):
category, which is the familycaregivers. And this is
interesting because these arefolks who are not necessarily
trained to be in this role.
They're not paid to be in thisrole. And this is on top of
oftentimes regular life stuffand regular jobs. So we're going
to dig into that a little bit. Acouple of stats here. You know,
(02:37):
I always have a few stats that Ihave to have to read.
Approximately 5,700,000,000unpaid hours in Canada are being
offered by caregivers. Fivepoint seven billion unpaid
hours. That equates to97,100,000,000 in the value of
work, unpaid work. So these aredollars that are unpaid. This is
(03:00):
the type of work that the familyand volunteer caregivers are
giving.
This is significant. Sounds likeit's unsustainable. So this is
where I hand it over to you. Iknow that we had a recent survey
and discussions about it, butreally the mental health of
caregivers has to be addressed.
Mike Gawliuk (03:19):
Well, absolutely. And certainly for organizations
that are in this space, andwe'll talk about a little bit
about them. They've kind ofidentified the tidal wave that's
coming because there's apopulation of boomers that
haven't hit necessarily the agewhere they're going to need a
level of care.
Jessica Samuels (03:39):
And
Mike Gawliuk (03:41):
basically, at this point in time, the data say that
basically there's 8,000,000Canadians that care for family
and friends. That's one out ofevery four people. That's going
to continue to increase to thepoint where it's going to be one
out of every two. And when wetalked about the dollar value in
(04:07):
regards to that in preparing forthis, one of the things that I
identified was that for every $1that goes out for paid
caregiving, dollars 3 are usedon with families that's unpaid.
And so it's ultimately verysignificant.
Jessica Samuels (04:28):
What's interesting to me, as you just
demonstrated in that fact aswell, is that we're talking
about when we go back to thatprofessional caregiving and
overburdened system, which we'vementioned several times. But if
we're talking about one versusthree here, there's an
overburdened system of theunpaid folks, but that is not
(04:49):
sustainable. And when we talkabout the emerging ers, we talk
about most caregivers, is orsorry, not most, one in five
caregivers are at or over theage of 65. I feel like this is
going to spill out into thatprofessional caregiving category
and further impact a system thatjust doesn't seem like it'll be
(05:12):
able to bear it.
Mike Gawliuk (05:14):
I think that's the concern. And, you know, the
Canadian Centre for CaregivingExcellence has really focused
energy on that. They're anorganization that supports and
empowers caregivers and careproviders, advances the
knowledge and capacity of thecaregiving field. So that's also
(05:34):
for paid givers, paidcaregivers, but also advocate
for effective and visionarysocial policy policy. And a year
ago released a document whichwas a bit of a, you know, a
bellwether and a canary in thecoal mine of this is the
(05:55):
situation that we're in.
And if something significantisn't done, we're in we're in
big trouble. Right. And so, aswith a number of the issues that
we talk about on this podcast,there's a higher level policy
and government response that'srequired. Certainly for those
(06:17):
caregivers that are doing it dayto day, there's the things that
they need to pay attention to interms of taking care of
themselves. And we'll talk aboutthat.
But also wanted to point outthat there actually are some
countries that have caregiverstrategies that are far more
(06:38):
advanced and evolved than ourour system. So we have a staff
person who is a family navigatorwho works at Foundry and is from
The UK and has had extensiveexperience supporting caregivers
in The UK. Certainly what sheidentified was that Australia,
(07:00):
Germany and UK are leading theway and how they're doing so is
that on an economic from aneconomic standpoint, if people
aren't necessarily able to workbecause they're caregiving,
that's a problem. Familycaregivers that provide over a
certain number of hours per weekof care get a caregiver
(07:22):
allowance. So they're actuallygetting some financial support
for their work.
That respite care is available.And respite care is again one of
those strategies for thecaregivers to take care of
themselves in the face of theircaregiving role. And there is
also, because you mentionedagain, people not necessarily
(07:45):
having training or education inthis. There's education and
training grants available forcaregivers to learn more and to
enhance their skills. And thenone of the things and we see it
in Kelowna with a project likeFoundry or the Family Connection
(08:05):
Centre in The UK, most citieshave caregiver hubs, and that's
really where that people canaccess support around connection
to services.
There's caregiver groups andactivities. They can apply for
benefits and the completion ofcaregiver assessments. So there
(08:25):
is good work that's being doneelsewhere that certainly could
be replicated and ways of, youknow, addressing some of the
challenges that that happen forcaregivers.
Jessica Samuels (08:38):
Right. Another distinction I'd like to make,
and it just made me think of itthere when you were talking, is
that we oftentimes, you and I onthis podcast, have talked about
caregivers as it relates tofamily of young people. So
caregivers of young people. Andduring the research for this, it
was really interesting to me howthis and what we're going to get
(09:02):
into about the mental health ofcaregivers that next little It's
different when you are acaregiverparent, so of a young
person. Not saying it's nothard, there's not challenges,
and there's there are supportsystems and networks out there,
you just gave examples ofearlier.
The difference between being aparent caregiver versus somebody
(09:25):
who is aging, who has a chronicillness, or what have you, is
that when you're a caregiver asa parent or of a young person,
young person, generallyspeaking, is improving each day.
Growing. Maybe improving is notthe right word. They're growing.
They're getting older.
They're becoming more selfsufficient. In terms of, think
(09:50):
of a baby to a toddler to ayouth to, and so there's that
idea that you see change andimprovement. And so your role as
a caregiver becomes different.And sometimes, you know, is
weighted differently. Whenyou're a caregiver of an older
person, are individuals who arechronic illness or near end of
(10:12):
life, it is different.
It is not the same, becausethere is not an opportunity for
that improvement or selfsufficiency. Perhaps you're a
long term caregiver of somebodywho has an illness, maybe that
will come. But maybe that's notgoing to come for five or six
(10:36):
years down the road. And thatwas a really interesting
distinction for me. As somebodywho's kind of been in that
category of supporting folks inmy life who are older adults,
and supporting folks in my lifewho have had episodes and
periods of injury, long episodesor continuous episodes of injury
(10:58):
or illness.
It's tough out there.
Mike Gawliuk (11:02):
100%.
Jessica Samuels (11:04):
And so let's talk about the mental health,
all of that a long explanationto say, let's talk about the
mental health, the mental healthimpacts of being a caregiver.
Let's start off with it can berewarding. Certainly, don't want
to have this doom and gloomperspective. It can be a very
rewarding experience.
Mike Gawliuk (11:20):
Yeah. Well, and I look at my own personal
experience and my caregivingexperience with my father, who
passed away a couple of yearsago, was very short. Like he
moved down with me. He lived inmy home and I had to undertake
some caregiving responsibilitiesuntil he passed. And I can just
(11:44):
say that experience, as sure asit was, certainly makes me see
like the multiple challengesthat comes with caregiving.
But yes, there are positivesthat come from it. One study
actually identified that forsome caregivers, caregiving
(12:04):
actually extends their lifespan.Other benefits just include
increased self esteem, thegratitude and recognition that
they receive from carerecipients and and how that can
strengthen the relationshipbetween the caregiver and the
(12:25):
person that they're caring for.So it's not all bad, but it is
there is a heavy load andthere's a lot of things that
impact caregivers on thenegative side of the ledger. And
and those are some of the thingsthat we want to identify and
then talk about how people mightbe able to address that.
Jessica Samuels (12:46):
Yeah, well, let's do that as well, because I
think, I don't, you know, puttoo much of my own opinion in
this, but I having, you know,when you're in those situations
and maybe you can identify thesame if you feel like you're
full up with your job, life,caregiving, you feel like you
(13:07):
don't have time for thosepieces, those other pieces, like
if you can get to bed at areasonable time and get up at a
reasonable time, remember tohave something to eat. That's a
win. But you need more than thatto manage your mental health.
Mike Gawliuk (13:20):
Oh, for sure. I remember sitting in this room
doing an interview with aprospective staff member when my
phone went off and it was thelife alert system and saying,
Oh, by the way, your dad'sfallen. I had excused myself
from the interview because therewas nobody else that could go.
And I had to go up to the houseand see if he was Okay and then
(13:42):
get him back up and moving.Right.
And so, yeah, it impacts thingsconsiderably. When you talk
about the the CCE and some ofthe work they've done and
caregivers and sort of sendingthe alarms signals, they've
identified some stats that areconcerning. So they identified
(14:05):
that one in four caregiversreport fair or poor mental
health, that there's increasedfatigue, anxiety and sense of
overwhelmed because of thosecare responsibilities. We talked
(14:26):
about those that are seniorsthat are caregivers who may also
require care and are the leastlikely to access supports or
services to help with theirresponsibilities. And one of the
tolls that and we sort oftouched on it briefly, it takes
(14:47):
is that one of the most commonimpacts for people is around the
financial toll that caregivingtakes.
And half of the caregivers thatthey surveyed had faced
financial stress in the pastyear. Right.
Jessica Samuels (15:05):
And just by you saying that, I hear come back to
what you said earlier. You know,think about those European
countries that have financialsupports and repayment in that.
So really, that would be anincredible thing for us to have
here. That financial toll is isa heavy burden. With it comes
with its own mental healthimpacts.
Mike Gawliuk (15:21):
For sure. And then when you look at diverse
communities, there's additionalgaps on top of that. So
racialized, Indigenous, LGB2Siplus are more likely to
experience negative aspects ofcare. And half of racialized
(15:44):
caregivers have faced financialhardship. So again, when we look
at the impact overall,significant and and and it's
concerning, which is why it'simportant for organizations like
the CCC to exist and advocatestrongly for government to to
(16:06):
invest and make this a priority.
But in the meantime, you're acaregiver. You're you're
experiencing some of thechallenges. What do you do?
Jessica Samuels (16:17):
Right. First, actually, before, what do you
do? I think it's recognizingwhat, what you're feeling
recognizing what's going on,because I, I'm worried that you
might get into a cycle of beingtired and down and just think it
comes with the job comes withthe role. And it might be it's a
tough role. But don't justaccept it and think that it's
(16:39):
okay.
So recognizing what you know,those typical things, that we
have talked about before when itcomes to low mood or depression
or not feeling not feeling likeyourself, sleeping more not at
all, you know, not eating oreating differently, eating more
use of substances, alcohol, moreor less. Those things where you
(17:03):
just know that you're not notthe same.
Mike Gawliuk (17:06):
Yeah, you're not yourself, for sure. I think you
make a good point. I thinkthere's a level of awareness
around the impact that can thatcan come with that. I would say
when you're caring for someoneelse and it's that that airplane
(17:30):
analogy, right? When the maskdrops from the ceiling, put
yours on first before you put onthe other person's.
And there's again variousstrategies that you can utilize
to try to take care of yourselfbefore it gets to the point of
burnout, before it gets to thepoint where you have to seek out
(17:54):
therapy, medication, those kindsof things. And they're pretty
straightforward, but they mightbe challenging for some based on
circumstances. Simply in in somecases, take some time for
yourself where you can, because,again, it can be all
(18:14):
encompassing. Ask for and accepthelp for assistance with daily
activities.
Jessica Samuels (18:23):
That second part, that accepting help is
such an interesting point,right? Yeah. Like, that's that's
kind of like, no, I've got this.This is my burden. This is my
mom, aunt, partner, you know, tomanage.
It's I don't want to put thatburden on somebody else to do
it, but it's such a criticalpiece.
Mike Gawliuk (18:44):
Well, and that shared responsibility hopefully
keeps everybody healthier. Ofcourse, we always talk about get
connected, become aware ofcaregiving resources in your
area, and that could include anynumber of things, including like
(19:05):
classes or ride services, mealdelivery, housecleaning
services, those kinds of things.So familiarize yourself with
those in order to see what youcan put in place.
Jessica Samuels (19:18):
Consider
Mike Gawliuk (19:20):
joining a support group, right? In some cases, you
might feel like you're the onlyperson in the world that's
having this experience. And whenyou get together with others
that are having similarexperiences, it's a good way,
first of all, to socialize andrelate. And it's a step you can
(19:41):
take in, you know, again, careof yourself.
Jessica Samuels (19:47):
Yeah. One other point I was going to make along
those lines was that oftentimesif you're caregiving for an
individual that has a specificillness or something like that,
there's also specific caregivergroups associated with that
Mike Gawliuk (20:06):
specific illness.
Jessica Samuels (20:08):
Yeah. So, you know, Alzheimer's cancer, a lot
of folks think about theirsupport groups like that.
Mike Gawliuk (20:14):
Yep. And we'll mention a couple of resources, a
couple of other things, ifpossible, finding respite care,
getting some time away just toreally focus on some self care
is important. I think whenthings become overwhelming, when
(20:39):
some of those symptoms thatstart to show up around
depression, I think one of thethings that you see take place
is people sometimes tend tosocially isolate. That's that's
really. The last thing that youwant to be doing,
Jessica Samuels (20:59):
the opposite of what you should
Mike Gawliuk (21:00):
be doing, really, ideally staying connected with
family and friends again, if ifthere's one thing we'll get from
a way forward is the importanceand the power of connection and
what a difference that can makefor people. And that's
absolutely important. And then,of course, there's the basics.
(21:22):
Try to take care of your yourhealth, right? And that comes
down to trying to get enoughsleep, eating healthy,
exercising, those kinds ofthings that help us to to stay
well.
Jessica Samuels (21:35):
Right. Okay, good practices. Let's go back to
some of those resources as well.So you mentioned Foundry. While
we're in this conversation, youdid talk about CC CE, and they
have a ton of even links tocaregiving or different
resources on their website
Mike Gawliuk (21:52):
as So, I mean, of course, in preparing this,
taking a look like like. All thedifferent resources that are
available that would appearacross the country, whether it's
a specific for somethingspecific, like you say, like
Alzheimer's or cancers orwhatever it is, there's like a
huge list of resources. You cango there. It's really a one stop
(22:17):
shop to take a look at what youcan match up with and find some
of the assistance. There's alsoinformation and resources that
are available to help educateThe the other one that that is
is available is FamilyCaregivers BC.
(22:40):
And I went and took a look lastnight. They have an online
caregiver assessment. And Iwould say from from doing it,
just experiencing it, anyonethat gets into a caregiver role
doing that assessment would besuper helpful because it leads
to some of the points that we'vealready talked about. Right. And
(23:02):
certain situations where, youknow, things are going to look a
certain way now, but they maythose may change with time and
and it provides information.
And again, there's resources onthere. There's podcasts, there's
other information. So that isalso a wealth of resource for
caregivers. For me, the thingthat stood out was the caregiver
(23:23):
assessment. In terms of gettinga sense of where you're at and
where you might be able to go,that's an excellent step to
take.
Jessica Samuels (23:32):
Right. Don't wait till you're burnt out.
Don't wait till you can't takeit anymore Before you do that
assessment, don't self assessbefore you take the assessment.
Why don't you go out and see,you know, early intervention
prevention, those preventativemeasures that we always talk
about, they also apply to you asa caregiver, you can, you know,
support yourself early so thatyou don't reach rock bottom
Mike Gawliuk (23:54):
for sure. And there's there's lots of tips and
tricks like we talked about. Andthen there's also also
information and things in there,like when you have to navigate
the formal care system,
Jessica Samuels (24:05):
right,
Mike Gawliuk (24:05):
which isn't always particularly easy. And so
resources that are helpful interms of helping to educate
people on how to do that. And socertainly I would encourage
people to to to check thoseresources out as a great
starting point to get connectedwith supports and information
(24:26):
that they need that might helpto make their experience of
caregiving a little bit lessstressful and allow them to take
care of themselves as they doit.
Jessica Samuels (24:35):
Thanks so much, Mike.
Mike Gawliuk (24:36):
Thank you.
Jessica Samuels (24:37):
Okay, so we just rattled off quite a few
resources there. We are going toadd those in the show notes. We
are also going to, of course,add them to the A Way Forward
presented by Beam Credit Unionpodcast page. And that is at
cmhkolona.org. Really take sometime to check them out, even if
(25:00):
you just know somebody or you'rejust wondering where you are at
at your caregiver journey.
And of course, as always, in themeantime, please do take good
care. Beam Credit Union supportsmental health initiatives across
British Columbia because caringfor each other builds stronger,
more connected communities.United has won. Beam's founding
(25:20):
credit unions now serve 190,000members across BC.
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