The objective of this study was to evaluate the self-perception of stress in family caregivers of people with mental suffering. Participants were 54 family caregivers of consumers following treatment for at least one year, and with whom they cohabited. A guide elaborated for this purpose was used to obtain the participants' socio-demographic data and their self-perception to stress, identifying the caregiver's perception to stress and the triggering factors. The results were submitted to descriptive statistics and content analysis according to the frequency of answers. Of all participants, 81.5% perceived themselves as under some level of stress. Among these subjects, we evaluated that the aspects of living with the person with mental suffering were the factors that most contributed to their perception. In conclusion, the experience of being a caregiver of a mental health consumer is considered stressful and requires support, guidance and help in terms of cohabiting with the patient.
Stress; mental health; caregivers
