Enhancing the Caregiver Journey
Oaks Senior Living wants to share a few tips on how you can enhance your caregiver journey while spending quality time with the senior in your life.
While on the caregiving journey, many caregivers begin to feel exhausted and overwhelmed due to the high amount of energy required to care for a loved one. There are a variety of options that are available to senior caregivers that can provide relief, but it’s also essential for you, as the caregiver, to have the full capability of providing the care your loved one needs.
Oaks Senior Living wants to share a few tips on how you can enhance your caregiver journey while spending quality time with the senior in your life. We want to ensure that you and your loved one cherish the moments you have together, and these tips will help to improve your mood and balance your life.
Take Care of Yourself
When providing care to a loved one, sometimes managing your own health can be placed on the backburner. Even with a multitude of appointments, chores, caregiving duties, and other personal matters, you have to make time to practice self-care for both yourself and your loved one!
Although you may be very busy, don’t forget to take a day to relax and attend to personal needs. Making time for doctor appointments, haircuts, massage, and other self-care related activities are important to do for yourself to get your life back to full charge. Being a senior caregiver is not easy and making sure that you are capable and in the right mindset for the next challenge you may encounter is extremely important.
Caregiver burnout is absolutely true. It’s possible for caregivers to become stressed and overwhelmed to the point of a breakdown. To prevent this situation, it’s important to take care of yourself and relax when you can.
Making time for doctor appointments, haircuts, massage, and other self-care related activities are important to do for yourself to get your life back to full charge.
Remain Flexible
You may be used to having scheduled appointments at a specific time or taking a break at exactly 1 pm, but caregiving is not a structured duty. It’s very rare that you’ll have a scheduled break or a “9 to 5” work week. Caregiving can be extremely versatile, meaning that you’ll have to be able to adjust to changes in your day frequently.
When planning times for specific duties or tasks, don’t set a hard deadline. Chances are, you’re going to have to reprioritize what needs to be done several times throughout your day, so don’t set your heart on a specific time.
If you find being flexible challenging, try adopting timeframes rather than deadlines. A timeframe allows the task to be moved sooner or later without ruining your schedule!
Get Support
Many caregivers can be overwhelmed by the amount of work they have every week. Without a support network, it can be easy to get stressed. If you feel like you need a break, try asking a close friend or a family member to relieve you of your caregiving duties temporarily. Sometimes taking a break can help rejuvenate your mood and energy levels.
If you’re having trouble finding someone to assist you, there are support groups and senior living communities that have short-term programs available.
Although the caregiving journey is a challenging one, it is also gratifying. Providing needed support to a loved one not only makes a significant change in their life, but it also allows you and your loved one to spend quality time together and bond. Remember to always ask for help, reflect on your journey, and take some time to yourself when providing care to your loved ones to enhance your caregiving journey!
If you would like to help your loved one get the support they need, contact Oaks Senior Living and we’ll be glad to help!
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