If you're caring for a spouse with a serious illness, it's so important that you take steps to safeguard your own health. Attending to an ill spouse’s physical and mental needs can be overwhelming, and the stress can take a toll on your body, aggravating an existing condition or making you susceptible to new health issues, from infections to accidents to depression.

An estimated 44 million Americans serve as unpaid caregivers for elderly or ill family members, and that number is expected to rise. Consequently, more attention is being focused on the physical and emotional stresses of caregiving.

A recent study of more than 500,000 couples, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the more disabling the disease, the greater the likelihood that a caregiving spouse would die within nine years. Caring for a spouse after he or she has been hospitalized for stroke or dementia, for example, was more lethal than caring for someone with colon cancer. Although the latter is a serious illness, it allows the patient and the caregiver to live relatively normal lives.

Taking care of your own needs ensures that you’ll stay strong and healthy for your spouse. To find the time to do this, reach out to your family, friends and neighbors, or ask your doctor for referrals for caregiver services. Also, explore public resources. Your state's Area Agency on Aging (www.aoa.gov), for example, is a great source for information, counseling and respite care assistance.