On one hand, it can be flattering if your elderly family member only wants help from you. But eventually, that becomes exhausting. When you’re the only one she’ll allow to assist her, that means you’re on call constantly. That may not be easy to do when you’re trying to have your own life while also helping her. This means you need to put a plan in place.

This Gets Complicated

You do a lot for your aging family member as her caregiver, but you do have your own life. You also can’t be there every minute of every day. There may be times when you simply can’t be there for your senior. That doesn’t mean that her needs end, though. So you need to have an answer and a plan in place to sort this out.

Is There a Deeper Reason?

Your senior might be responding this way because she feels unsafe, uncertain, or she worries that she’s ill or otherwise unable to care for herself. It’s really important to find out if this is deeper than just having a specific preference for someone to care for her. Talk with your senior’s doctor so that you can rule out medical concerns. If you do find that there’s something more going on, you can start to address it properly.

Take Some Action

Assuming that there are no medical causes or that they’re being addressed, the next step is to ease your senior into a new way of looking at things. Hire home care providers and work out an action plan for helping your senior to adjust. Home care providers can help you to determine how to introduce this idea to her in a way that she is more likely to accept. Getting to know her new helpers gradually can help quite a bit.

Put a Solid Plan in Place

Now that you’ve started to take some action, you need a full plan. you need to take time away from caregiving and allow home care services to take over in your absence. They can handle anything that needs to be done and you can rest for a bit. As your elderly family member becomes more and more accustomed to this new routine, she may have far less to resist.

Your senior isn’t the only one affected when she only accepts help from you. This places extreme demands on your time and energy, too. Make sure that you’re taking time for yourself so that you can recover and come back to be the caregiver that she needs.

If you or an aging loved one are considering homecare in Galleria, TX, please call the caring staff at At Your Side Home Care. We will answer all of your senior care questions. Call today: (832) 271-1600.

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Donna Wrabel, LMSW

Co-Owner at At Your Side Home Care

For most of us, the word "home" evokes warm feelings of comfort, security and well-being. For older adults, home also means holding tight to cherished memories and maintaining self-esteem and independence. When illness, injury or age make life a little more challenging, remaining at home in a comfortable, familiar environment encourages recovery and enhances the quality of life. Home can be defined as a private residence, an independent or assisted living facility or even a short term stay in the hospital, we recognize the additional benefits provided by a personal, professional assistant.

Our Certified Nurse Aides, 24-Hour Live-in Assistants and Home Health Aides are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also provide the security and confidence of 24-hour Telephone Assistance, so fast, reliable help is always available when it's needed. To learn more about our homecare services see our homecare services page.

Different people need different levels of homecare. To meet the requirements of our clients, At Your Side Homecare maintains consistent staffing levels of caring professionals. Homecare service is available for as little as a few hours a week, or as many as 24 hours a day, seven days a week

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