• Three-quarters (75%) of carers aged 45-75 say they feel ‘on-call’ to deal with caring duties for over half the week, including nights.
• Almost two-thirds (64%) feel providing care has negatively impacted their mental health.
• More than a third (35%) reveal providing care has damaged their social relationships.
Research from retirement specialist Just Group uncovers the “immense social strain” and damaged relationships that carers are dealing with as a result of providing care to loved ones. The survey of 1,000 people aged 45-75 providing care for a relative has revealed the hidden cost of providing that care.
With three-quarters (75%) of respondents saying they feel ‘on-call’ to deal with caring duties for half the week or more (including nights), it is not surprising that almost half (49%) of people said, “I feel like my life is no longer my own.”
The consequences of this caring commitment are stark. Nearly two-thirds (64%) say providing care has had a negative impact on their mental health, and 59% report feeling more anxious and stressed as a result of providing care.
Many people said providing care for a loved one had resulted in social isolation. Forty-one percent of respondents reported feeling more socially isolated as a result of providing care. This is likely due, in part, to the impact of caring on their social life: half (50%) said that they turn down social opportunities to provide care, and 52% are worried about committing to social occasions in case they need to provide care.
Closer to home, more than a third (35%) said providing care for a family member has had a negative effect on their personal relationships.
More than a third (37%) of this group said that it had caused issues in their relationship with their partner, with a further 6% citing it as a significant factor in their break-up or divorce. Four in 10 (39%) admitted that providing care had damaged their relationship with friends, and three in 10 (30%) said that it had harmed their sibling relationships.
Yet, despite these negative experiences and the high personal cost of providing care, most people remain committed to looking after a family member who needs care. Three-quarters (75%) told us they were glad to be providing the care rather than somebody else, and 60% said they feel that they are providing a social purpose.
Previous analysis from the same research by Just Group has demonstrated the financial cost of providing care. The average amount of salary lost stands at £6,468 a year among carers cutting down or stopping work altogether, with one in six (17%) saying it had cost more than £1,000 a month.
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “This research paints a bleak picture of social isolation, anxiety, and damaged relationships – this is the daily reality for the millions of people up and down the country who are providing care for a family member – the hidden cost of care.
“The ties that bind are strong, and while most people are glad to look after family members, it’s clear that providing this care comes at a high personal and financial cost.
“Perhaps the most telling figure in the findings is that 68% of carers said that providing care had made them more worried about becoming elderly. It suggests a society in which people fear later life and the prospect of needing care.
“Yet, time and again, we see people reluctant to put plans in place for this very eventuality because they say they’re waiting to see what the government will do. The public continues to be tantalized by promises of fixing the problem of social care, and the latest government announcement is likely to drive four more years, at the very least, of paralysis rather than planning.
“As our research shows, millions of unpaid carers are making daily sacrifices to step into the breach and support family members. The longer a government takes to deliver a policy, the longer the burden will lie on the shoulders of vulnerable people and their families.”