Both burden and stress must be examined to assess the effects of caregiving on the caregiver. Caregiving is a time-consuming responsibility which inflicts various limitations on the caregiver's personal life. Role conflict resulting from the competing demands of the care recipient, other family obligations, and employment responsibilities is often a major complaint of caregivers. In addition to competing roles, many caregivers must adjust to a new role. The emotional and physical demands of the care recipient can also cause stress among caregivers.
Many caregivers experience problems with the physical demands of caregiving.
Some report difficulty in lifting or moving their care recipient, others report difficulty in performing personal care tasks. Caregiving spouses reported grief over the loss of the spouse they once knew. Seventy-six percent reported worrying about their own health and what would happen if they became ill. Many expressed some form of generalized anxiety about the future. Sixty-seven percent reported feeling depressed.