Caregivers are wonderful people. They put the needs of others before themselves. We loudly applaud those special individuals who offer professional caregiving. However, we would like to highlight those who offer assistance to their loved ones. Nothing but the love in their hearts encourages them to help their elderly family members with day-to-day living. Needless to say, it’s a challenging job. As a result, caregivers need to learn how to care for themselves.
Ask family members and close friends for help.
As much as you may wish to handle all of the caregiving responsibilities yourself, it’s vital that you get a little help yourself. Naturally, you can get burnt out by taking care of someone all by yourself. In addition to the physical toll it takes on your body, caregiving can create a great deal of emotional strain. Don’t be afraid to ask your loved ones to help you out. As DailyCaring.com reminds us, some people don’t realize how much time, energy and sacrifice caregiving takes.
“To get more help from family or friends, have calm, open one-on-one conversations and let them know that you need their assistance,” suggests the website, “Make it easier for them to help by asking them to do things that play to their strengths, like running errands, doing light housekeeping, taking care of simple home repairs, doing online research, etc. If you need help with hands-on caregiving, ease someone into it by having them shadow you.”
Exercise.
Is there a list of health tips anywhere that doesn’t include exercise? Obviously, being physically fit is an excellent way to ensure that you’re capable of caring for an elderly loved one. Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. Caregiver.org highlights the importance of caregivers getting in some physical activity.
“Exercise promotes better sleep, reduces tension and depression, and increases energy and alertness,” reveals the site, “If finding time for exercise is a problem, incorporate it into your daily activity. Perhaps the care recipient can walk or do stretching exercise with you. If necessary, do frequent short exercises instead of those that require large blocks of time. Find activities you enjoy.”
Hire some help for your non-caregiving tasks.
Especially when you are caring for an elderly person, you tend to run out of time for yourself each day. This makes it difficult to complete various tasks for yourself. They can include such chores as laundry, vacuuming or doing the dishes. To take some of the stress off of your shoulders, hire some help for your non-caregiving tasks. DailyCaring.com stresses the fact that a caregiver’s living environment and essential supplies also must be maintained.
“Getting help with non-caregiving tasks takes those things off your to do list and means more time for yourself,” says the site, “That could include hiring someone to buy groceries and household supplies, getting help with laundry, hiring a housekeeper, buying a meal service for part of the week, hiring a gardener, having a handyman come once a month, etc.”
At LifeCare Mobility Solutions, it’s important to us that we offer caregivers all the help they can get. We would be happy to inform you all about the many high-quality mobility solutions we offer to provide greater independence to your care recipient. Please don’t hesitate to call us at 416-267-9800 or email us at info@lifecaremobility.ca. You may also contact us by filling out the form on our Contact page!
