Managing Feelings

Abstract

Using data obtained from interviews with the familial caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease, as well as the research findings of others, this article examines one dimension of caregiving as work—caregiving as emotion work. It shows that caregivers are heavily engaged in an extensive amount of intense emotion work, are aware of "feeling rules," and experience stress when they have failed to conform to them. Drawing upon symbolic interactionism, the analysis shows how failure in emotion management negatively affects the caregiver's sense of self. The study findings suggest that emotion work, in particular failure to manage feelings, may well be a very important but as yet not well identified component of caregiver stress and burden.