How are you describing your life as a caregiver? Do you remember when you or someone in your family brought home a new baby from the hospital? Can you recall the joy, the excitement, the pride? A few months later, you were probably still excited with this new addition to your family, but a little less so. Were you starting to become more tired, sleep deprived, feeling a bit isolated? Were you becoming more irritable with family members and friends? Family members and friends take notice. How did you feel when there were offers to babysit,or prepare dinner or run errands? Were you relieved? Did it help to have assistance with balancing your life? Now imagine your life as a caregiver for your spouse or parent? Is it important to have support to help with your loved one? The overwhelm, confusion, frustration and stress can cause you to forget the essence of the caregiver in you. Remember Caregivers Need Care Too.
Busy At Caregiving
How does your day begin as a caregiver? Get yourself up and prepared. Did you get a chance to take some time for yourself before starting with the daily to do’s for your loved one? Check your emails, get a cup of coffee. Get some fresh air. Take a few minutes to stretch. Let’s assume you always take time out for yourself because if you don’t take care of yourself, all the energy, love and compassion that is required for the care of your loved one with be compromised. Now, you take the time to focus on your role and responsibilities as the caregiver. You have done another wonderful job. Congratulations. It’s the end of the day. Don’t forget to take more time for yourself. You deserve it. Your well-being depends on it. Because Caregivers Need Care Too.
Reaching out as a Caregiver
As you spend time caring for your loved one, how often do you reach out for friends or family just to share an experience? These people understand that your life has changed. They care about you and want to be a part of your life. Allow them to spread some sunshine and compassion into your caregiving experience. How do you do that? Call them and chat for a few minutes. Ask them to drop in and just sit with you or share a cup of tea or a favorite recipe. Ask their opinion on something you really care about. Just sit and be still with your friend and share moments of gratitude. You will both feel better later. Who can you reach out to this week? Will you?
Special Days
As a caregiver, how do you time out for yourself? Do you take the time for some special days? If you have answered, “yes”, what are some of the activities you do on those special days? Is it a day when you call in someone to “take your place” with your caregiving responsibilities? Do you allow someone else to take your loved one to a regularly scheduled appointment? If your loved one takes naps during the day, what do you do during those naps? That would be the ideal time for sit and relax or even to catch up on a well-deserved nap for yourself. Do you think you should be doing something else while your loved one is preoccupied? To avoid unnecessary stress and burnout, take the time to do something you like. Perhaps it’s finishing the last chapter in that novel or completing yesterday’s newspaper or responding to emails. Remember, “Caregivers Need Care Too”.