介護をする前提で考えるべき「老化」とは？
老化というと見た目や視力、聴力のようなイメージが浮かぶかも知れません。
もちろんそれも老化現象です。
ただ介護を前提とした老化は少し異なる視点で、「できたことができなくなる」という生活状況の変化です。
「できないことができない」なら、極端な話、意識もあまり感じないでしょう。
でも以前はできたことができなくなるので、できなくなってもあれこれと口が出てしまうます。
「もっとちゃんとして」「ここはこうして！」
介護されるようになっても、介護されているという意識よりも、介護してくれる人のやり方が気なって仕方がありません。
「じゃあ、自分ですればいいだろう！」
そんな感情も湧いて来ます。
ここでも分かるように、できたことができなくなると、イメージはできるままで実際にはできないので、代わりにする方も自分でする以上にストレスを感じやすいのも特徴です。
元介護士として、一人の人間を365日、24時間介護するには３人の協力者が集まらないと厳しいでしょう。
二人なら６人ではありませんが、二人でも最低は３人で、症状によっては６人に近づくでしょう。
実は寝たきりの介護が精神的なストレスは少なく、医療的な技術が求められます。
一方で、要支援や要介護1、２の段階はできないこともありますができることも多いので、口も出ます。
またどこかに歩いて行ってしまうということもあり、目が離せません。
介護士時代、不穏で落ち着かない人がいると、直ぐに寄り添いに入ります。
しかし、その人だけを見ていればいいのではないので、時にはその人を連れて別の方の介護をするというような感じです。
もう少し脱線ついでに話すと、その別の方が高熱ですぐにナースに連絡しなければいけない状況になれば、一人で同時に抱える作業が増え続けます。
そんな混乱した状況で、また別の方がフロアーを立ち上がっていたりすれば、あっちもこっちもになって、頭をフル回転させないと務まりません。
丁寧な対応は訓練で補えますが、方々で次々に起こった時の応対は技術や知識の他、利用者の性格や症状など、瞬時に判断しなければならず、そこは介護士の難しさでもあります。
その意味では家族の介護では大勢にはならないのですが、代わりに家族という間柄ゆえにわがままや馴れ合いの関係が介護を大変にもします。
「この味噌汁、少し濃いね」
これも在宅介護ではあるあるだと思うのですが、疲れていると「分かったから、飲んで！」と思います。
手を抜いたからではなく、あれこれしながら作った味噌汁が少し濃くても薄くても黙って飲んで欲しいのです。
ですが介護される親は、作ってもらうことしか気になることがないので、「濃い」「薄い」を言いたくなります。
それがいろんな場面で起こるので、施設での介護とは異なるストレスが在宅介護にはあります。
だからこそ、一人では抱えきれないのが介護だと理解して、お住まいの地域を管轄する地域包括支援センターと早めに繋がっておきましょう。
What Does “Aging” Mean When We Think About Caregiving?
When we hear the word “aging,” we may picture changes in appearance, eyesight, or hearing.
Of course, those are also aspects of aging.
However, aging viewed from the perspective of caregiving is a little different. It is a change in daily life in which “things you used to be able to do, you can no longer do.”
If it were simply that “things you can’t do, you can’t do,” then, to put it bluntly, you might not be very aware of it.
But when things you used to be able to do become impossible, you still feel like you can do them, even though you actually can’t. As a result, you end up commenting on everything, even after you can no longer do it yourself.
“Try harder.”
“Do it this way!”
Even after needing care, rather than being conscious of being cared for, you can’t help but notice—and be bothered by—the way the caregiver does things.
“Then I should just do it myself!”
Those kinds of feelings naturally arise.
As you can see, when someone can no longer do what they once could, they still have a clear image of being able to do it. That gap—between what they imagine and what they can actually do—means that the person stepping in to help often feels even more stress than if they were doing the task alone.
From my experience as a former caregiver, providing care for one person 24 hours a day, 365 days a year realistically requires the cooperation of at least three people.
Two people are not enough; even three is the bare minimum, and depending on the symptoms, it may approach the equivalent of six people.
In fact, caring for someone who is bedridden tends to involve less psychological stress, though it does require medical skills.
On the other hand, during the stages of “needs support” or care levels 1 or 2, there are things the person cannot do—but also many things they can do—so they tend to speak up more.
They may also wander off somewhere, which means you can’t take your eyes off them.
When I was working as a caregiver, if someone was agitated or restless, I would immediately stay close to them.
However, you can’t focus on just one person, so sometimes you end up bringing that person along while caring for someone else.
To digress a bit further: if that other person suddenly develops a high fever and you need to contact a nurse right away, the number of tasks you’re handling alone keeps increasing.
In that kind of chaotic situation, if yet another person stands up and starts moving around the floor, you’re pulled in every direction and have to keep your mind working at full speed just to manage.
Polite, attentive care can be learned through training. But when things start happening one after another in different places, you must make instant judgments—not only based on skills and knowledge, but also on each user’s personality and symptoms. That is one of the real challenges of caregiving.
In family caregiving, you don’t have to deal with large numbers of people. Instead, however, the family relationship itself—its familiarity and occasional selfishness—can make caregiving even harder.
“This miso soup is a bit salty.”
I think this is something that happens all the time in home care. When you’re exhausted, you might think, “I get it—just drink it.”
It’s not because you cut corners; you made that miso soup while juggling many other things, and whether it’s a little salty or a little bland, you just want them to drink it without comment.
But the parent receiving care has nothing else to focus on besides being served the meal, so they feel compelled to say, “It’s too salty” or “It’s too bland.”
Because this happens in many different situations, home caregiving brings a kind of stress that is different from caregiving in a facility.
That is precisely why it’s important to understand that caregiving is not something one person can carry alone. Make sure to connect early with the Community Comprehensive Support Center that serves your local area.