As you care for your elderly loved one, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed by all of the different directions into which you’re pulled. When this feeling gets to the point where you’re feeling stuck or you’re finding yourself neglecting parts of your life, you’re well into something called caregiver stress. These strategies can help you to pull yourself out of that situation.
Lighten Up with Your Standards
Everyone has the same amount of hours in every day, and how they’re used is what makes the difference. In different times of your life, you may have had time to vacuum every day or put together gourmet meals that hit every single nutritional goal. That’s just not possible for everyone at every stage of life. Right now, you might be in a place where your standards may need to lighten up just a little bit. Hire out some of the tasks you can’t do yourself, such as having someone come in to clean for you once a week. In the same way, you can have elderly care providers take task over for your loved one that you don’t have the time or the emotional bandwidth to sort out yourself.
Reduce Frustration as Much as Possible
When you’re dealing with a lot of different people and responsibilities in your life, frustration and overwhelm build up. To keep your own stress levels under control, it’s important that you do what you can to reduce the amount of frustration that you face every day. One way to do this is to make sure that you take time for yourself every day. Exercise, meditate, or simply spend time each day in quiet reflection. This allows you to come to your various responsibilities from a centered space.
Get a Solid Routine in Place
One huge source of stress is feeling that your day runs you instead of you running your day. What you need to counteract this problem is a solid routine so that you know what you’re doing and when you’re doing it. This can also help your elderly loved one to feel more comfortable and less anxious. If your loved one does better early in the day, for example, make sure that you schedule appointments in the morning whenever possible.
Your perspective can add to your stress or help to reduce it, so it’s important for you to do everything that you can to approach the situation from a positive angle.
Source
http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/caregiver-stress.html
For elder care in Mt. Laurel, NJ, and the surrounding areas call and talk to us at Home to Stay Healthcare Solutions (856) 321-1500.
