Family members of patients in intensive care have anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress lasting months, according to a new study.
Claudia Downs helps her husband, John, re-learn simple tasks. An illness kept him in the intensive care unit for weeks.
"They didn't know if he was gonna make it. It was just kind of a mad scramble all the time to keep everything going," says Claudia.
Managing everything like household tasks and other family members fell to Claudia.
"I started having anxiety attacks," Claudia said.
In the first study of its kind, research by Intermountain Healthcare in Utah investigated the link between levels of cortisol -- a stress hormone -- of family members of adult ICU patients and anxiety.
Knowing which family members are likely to suffer long-term effects could help caregivers offer guidance on how to help them.
"The whole idea is really to bring the medical system and the family into the engaging process of promoting families and patients to be well," said Dr. Ellie Hirshberg, who practices critical medicine at the Intermountain Medical Center.
Researchers measured stress levels through heart rate and cortisol. They found most family members are in denial about how stressful it is.
"Most of the time they are focused on their loved one, and they're not really focused on themselves, and so they're sort of saying, 'I'm OK, I'm OK, I'm OK,'" said Dr. Hirshberg.
Communicating with your loved one's medical team and advocating for yourself should become a priority.
"And then say, 'I need to go sleep. Promise me you will call me if anything changes. I need to go check on my other daughter.' We can assist the families," Dr. Hirshberg said.
Everyone agrees the best thing you can do to help your loved one recover is to also take care of yourself. Look to meditation and support groups that can help everyone get back on track.
