90 Caregiver Quotes About What it is Like Caring for Others

The word caregiver is one that can apply to many different types of people.

There are professional caregivers, familial caregivers, and even people who just naturally seem to take care of everyone around them.

So, what exactly is a caregiver then?

Professional caregivers include people who work inside someone else’s home, usually an elderly or ill person, and assist their clients with daily tasks.

These tasks could be anything from showering to light cleaning and cooking.

Other professional caregivers include nannies and anyone who takes care of children in a professional setting.

How do you say thank you to the people who help us do all the things that we cannot, either for ourselves or for those we love?

Keep reading through these caregiver quotes to find out!

Oftentimes, professional caregivers experience high rates of burnout because the people they are helping might be struggling with their own emotions and not be able to express gratitude.

Other times, many of their clients are nearing the end of their lives and when that time comes, the caregivers must process their grief.

Some of these caregiver quotes express what it feels like on those hard days.

However, it is not just professional caregivers who struggle, read on to find out what it is like to be a familial caregiver.

Don’t forget to also check out these kindness quotes about caring for others.

If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation. 

If you want more motivational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Inspirational caregiver quotes

1. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” — Leo Buscaglia

2. “Caregiving is a constant learning experience.” — Vivian Frazier

3. “A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.” ― Denis Waitley

4. “It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.” — Mother Teresa

5. “One person caring about another represents life’s greatest value.” — Jim Rohn

6. “We rise by lifting others.” — Robert Ingersoll

7. “It is not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.” — Lena Horne

8. “Sometimes asking for help is the most meaningful example of self-reliance.” — Cory Booker

9. “You have two hands. One to help yourself, and one to help others.” — Audrey Hepburn

10. “The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else.” ― Carson McCullers

11. “We’re all just walking each other home.” — Ram Dass

Caregiver quotes for those who take care of the elderly and sick (words of strength for a caregiver)

12. “The day the roles reverse is foreign. It’s a clumsy dance of love and responsibility, not wanting to cross any lines of respect. It’s honoring this person who gave their life to you—not to mention literally gave you life—and taking their fragile body in your hands like a newborn, tending to their every need.” ― Lisa Goich-Andreadis

13. “Caring for our seniors is perhaps the greatest responsibility we have. Those who walked before us have given so much and made possible the life we all enjoy.” — Senator John Hoeven

14. “There will come a time when your loved one is gone, and you will find comfort in the fact that you were their caregiver.” — Karen Coetzer

15. “The disease might hide the person underneath, but there’s still a person in there who needs your love and attention.” — Jamie Calandriello

16. “Caregiving leaves its mark on us. No matter what we do to prepare ourselves, the hole left behind looms large.” — Dale L. Baker

17. “Doctors diagnose, nurses heal, and caregivers make sense of it all.” — Brett H. Lewis

18. “Offering care means being a companion, not a superior. It doesn’t matter whether the person we are caring for is experiencing cancer, the flu, dementia, or grief. If you are a doctor or surgeon, your expertise and knowledge comes from a superior position. But when our role is to be providers of care, we should be there as equals.” ― Judy Cornish

19. “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Carl W. Buechner

20. “Be in the moment with them. They may not remember you are there, but YOU do.” ― Joyce O. C.

Caregiver quotes about the rewards and character traits the role develops

21. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ― Lao Tzu

22. “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” ― Tia Walker

23. “The simple act of caring is heroic.” ― Edward Albert

24. “Caring about others, running the risk of feeling, and leaving an impact on people, brings happiness.” ― Harold Kushner

25. “Caregivers attract caregivers and live in a community of love. They are energized by their caring, fulfilled, and they love life.” ― Gary Zukav

26. “I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren’t all that different.” — Veronica Roth

27. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi

28. “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” — John Bunyan

29. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” — Charles Dickens

30. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” — Maya Angelou

Encouraging caregiver quotes for those tough days

31. “There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.” — Rosalyn Carter

32. “During the 24/7 grind of being a carer, it’s all too easy to forget the fact that the person you’re doing so much for is, and is obliged to be, more resourceful than you in many respects.” ― Naoki Higashida

33. “My caregiver mantra is to remember: the only control you have is over the changes you choose to make.” — Nancy L. Kriseman

34. “Compassion automatically invites you to relate with people because you no longer regard people as a drain on your energy.” — Chogyam Trungpa

35.“God gave burdens; he also gave shoulders.” — Yiddish Proverb

36. “Like airplane passengers, let’s not forget to put on our own oxygen masks first … we are no good to our loved ones if we collapse under the strain.” ― Peter B.

37. “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” ― Emory Austin

38. “When the hard things happen to us it enables us to be there for someone else later.” ― Dawn Camp

39. “Regardless of what challenge you are facing right now, know that it has not come to stay. It has come to pass. During these times, do what you can with what you have, and ask for help if needed. Most importantly, never surrender. Put things in perspective. Take care of yourself. Find ways to replenish your energy, strengthen your faith, and fortify yourself from the inside out.” ― Les Brown

40. “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.” ― Irish proverb

Caregiver quotes for when you need to know how much you matter

41. “Care is a state in which something does matter; it is the source of human tenderness.” ― Rollo May

42. “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” ― Margaret Mead

43. “Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn’t know possible.” ― Tia Walker

44. “Kindness can transform someone’s dark moment with a blaze of light. You’ll never know how much your caring matters. Make a difference for another today.” ― Amy Leigh Mercree

45. “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

46. “When you are a caregiver, you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours.” — Unknown

47. “Sometimes our work as caregivers is not for the faint of heart. But, you will never know what you’re made of until you step into the fire. Step bravely.” — Deborah A. Beasley

48. “Be helpful. When you see a person without a smile, give them yours.” — Zig Ziglar

49. “Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves.” — Mason Cooley

50. “Some caregivers want to reciprocate the care they themselves received as children.” — Ariel Gore

Caregiver Quotes To Encourage Compassion and Love

51. “Caregiving has no second agendas or hidden motives. The care is given from love for the joy of giving without expectation, no strings attached.” — Gary Zukav

52. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill

53. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” — Dalai Lama

54. “When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.” — John Ruskin

55. “Nurses dispense comfort, compassion and caring without even a prescription.” — Val Saintsbury

56. “To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; that is to be a nurse.” — Rawsi Williams

57. “Where there is love there is life.” — Mahatma Gandhi

58. “Caregiving is about holding space for people.” — Tammy W

59. “Caregivers need patience and a willingness to understand.” — Nonni N.

60. “To be a guest in someone’s home as a caregiver requires great trust. It is truly an honor.” — Roberta G.

Caregiver Quotes For Courage and Growth

61. Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.”  — Mother Teresa

62. “Love begins by taking care of the closest ones—the ones at home.” — Mother Teresa

63. “Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely, and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”  — Mother Teresa

64. “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” — Mark Twain

65. “Give yourself entirely to those around you. Be generous with your blessings. A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” — Steve Maraboli

66. “Nurturing is not complex. It’s simply being tuned in to the thing or person before you and offering small gestures toward what it needs at that time.” — Mary Anne Radmacher

67. “Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo

68. “No one cares until someone cares; be that one!” ― Ken Poirot

69. I follow three rules: do the right thing, do your best, and always show people you care.” – Lou Holtz

70. “You really can change the world if you care enough.” — Marian Wright Edelman

Caregiver Quotes To Show Kindness

71. “The most important thing offered by a caregiver is simply their complete presence” ― Arthur Kleinman

72. “Parents are the designated caregivers and are best suited for being able to raise children.” ― Gordon Neufeld

73. “From caring comes courage.” ― Lao Tzu

74. “An informed parent or caregiver becomes empowered, and empowerment can lead to the best care for our children.” ― Charisse Montgomery

75. “Caring about people, about things, about life―is an act of maturity.” ― Tracy McMillan

76. “It is so important as a caregiver not to become so enmeshed in the role that you lose yourself. It’s neither good for you nor your loved one.” ― Dana Reeve

77. By loving you more, you love the person you are caring for more.” ― Peggi Speers

78. “When people cared about each other, they always found a way to make it work.” ― Nicholas Sparks

79. “One goal of the mindful caregiver is to find ways to not feel ‘dis-eased’ in the caregiving process.” ― Nancy L. Kriseman

80. “I feel the capacity to care is the thing that gives life its deepest significance.” ― Pablo Casals

Caregiver Quotes To Be Compassionate Through Caring

81. “Caring is not what a powerful person gives to a weaker one. Caring is a matter of being there―lamenting right along with the one who laments.” ― Fred Rogers

82. “I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.” — Pablo Casals

83. “When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.” ― Langston Hughes

84. “Caring can be learned by all human beings, can be worked into the design of every life, meeting an individual need as well as a pervasive need in society.” ― Mary Catherine Bateson

85. “To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care.” ― Mandy Hale

86. “There’s nobody who cares more about you than you, and there’s nobody better equipped to take care of you than you.” ― Rush Limbaugh

87. “People who care about each other enjoy doing things for one another. They don’t consider it servitude.” ― Ann Landers.

88. “I’m not possessive, I’m caring. Once you realize a person doesn’t want that much care, you automatically back off.” ― Salman Khan

89. “Every one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.” ― Princess Diana

90. “Caring is personal. It is rooted in an individual’s own set of values, concerns, and aspirations.” ― Peter M. Senge

What did you learn from these caretaker quotes?

Ask any primary caregiver, like a stay-at-home parent, for an example of how difficult their days are and you will likely get a similar answer.

It is rewarding and special to spend time with your children, and most of us who have done it, are aware that we are blessed with an opportunity that not everyone has in today’s world.

I know I always tried to remember that on the days when I was so mentally exhausted from my small people needing me constantly.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, they would need one more thing.

It can also feel a little isolating because of the lack of adult interaction.

It isn’t just parents spending all day with their children who feel isolated and frustrated.

This can also happen when adult children are their parent’s primary caregivers.

Depending on the relationship between these family members, they might also struggle with guilt and fear of loss.

It is not an easy thing to do regardless of whether you are a professional caregiver or a family member taking care of a loved one.

The important thing to remember is to approach each situation with compassion.

A good support system and planning self-care activities can also make all the difference.

Which of these caregiver quotes and sayings resonated with you best?

Share any tips you have for ways that caregivers can take care of themselves too, in the comment below.