Taking care of yourself can often feel like more work, especially when you’re a caregiver. But this is a vital part of caregiving. You have got to look at what you’re doing for yourself so that you can determine if small or large changes might make a difference.
Check Your Basic Needs
Your basic needs are often something that can go haywire for a caregiver. What are you eating? Are you sleeping enough? And how about that exercise plan you were thinking about? All of these are ways for you to show your body and your brain that taking care of yourself is important to you. You’ll have better energy levels and you’ll be better prepared for the stresses of caregiving. You don’t have to overhaul everything at once, but making some changes can help.
Make Sure You Have Support
Double check your support network. Some caregivers need more support or different kinds of support than others need. Assess what support means for you. If it means that you’ve got emotional support on demand when you need it, then nurture those support networks. If you need actual hands-on help, then that’s the support system you need to be building and nurturing.
Avoid Guilting Yourself
If you’re telling yourself negative things, that’s going to hamper your ability to care for anyone, including yourself. This often starts because you’re insecure about what you’re doing or how you’re doing it. Find new sources of information if you need to, but don’t get stuck in the loop of talking down to yourself or treating yourself badly because you feel as if you could be doing something better.
Address and Support Your Boundaries
Boundaries are something that caregivers often ignore. You have limits to what you can do, both emotionally and physically. Those are your basic boundaries. When you allow other people to abuse those boundaries, that’s when you start to feel upset and that others are taking advantage of you. Limit those experiences by addressing and supporting your own boundaries. Other people will start to do so, too.
Self-care is not easy, but it is essential for caregivers. If you’re having a difficult time with self-care, you might need to slow down for a minute and assess what self-care really means for you. It can mean different things at different stages of your time as a caregiver, and that’s important for you to address internally.
If you are considering caregivers in The Heights, TX, for an aging loved one, 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.
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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