aired relatives. The time and energies of caregivers come to be consumed by this single enveloping role. Absorption into caregiving, of course, is often at the expense of the activities and relationships across which people's lives have previously been spread. Understandably, overwhelming circumstances may also result in isolation, a sense of being invisible in the larger society, and a conviction that no one "out there" understands or cares about the pain and suffering that goes with the caregiving.
Family members and friends continue to provide the major portion of longterm care to the elderly in society. However, family members who take care of their elderly parents do so at great personal cost. The problem of role reversal is involved, i.e., parent/child versus child/parent, resulting in caregivers frequently reporting physical health problems and emotional distress as consequences of providing informal care for an elderly loved one. Rita has been taking care of her elderly and infirm father for over one year, and is starting to suffer what is called caregiver burnout. She feels that she is carrying the burdens of the world, and although, in the beginning, there was a lot of support from family and friends and understanding in her work environment, she now believes that she is the only one to continue in her caregiving role. In order to deal with t
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