Taking care of your elderly family member may be something you’ve expected would happen for a long time, but the reality often doesn’t meet up with what you thought the experience would be. That’s why it helps to do as much as you can to make the experience easier.
Try to Understand How Your Senior Is Feeling
Caregiver Jericho, NY: Making Caregiving Easier
Growing older comes with a complicated mix of emotions, especially when your senior is finding her life changing much faster than she expects. Add health issues to that combination and she might not respond the way you expect her to in a variety of situations. It helps if you can try to remember to put yourself in her shoes a little more often.
Keep Track of Facts and Feelings
You’re also going to have some feelings about what’s happening. That’s normal and it really helps to have a way to manage those feelings. Journaling is an important way to do that and it can give you a way to be more compassionate toward your senior. You may also want to keep track of facts in a separate log. This is helpful for doctor’s appointments and tracking symptoms.
Stay Present in the Moment
There’s a lot going on when you’re a caregiver for someone that you love. Staying present as much as you can without drifting into autopilot is going to help you to be the best family caregiver that you can be. It’s also going to help you to assess the situation more accurately.
Do What You Can to Be Proactive
You may not know exactly what to do in every single situation, but you can probably do a bit more to be as proactive as possible. Do some research about your senior’s health issues and talk to her doctor about what else you need to know. Taking steps like hiring a caregiver before you are at a wall with your senior’s care is really important.
Remember that You Need to Take Care of You, Too
While you’re doing all that you can for your elderly family member, remember that you’re in need of care, too. When you spend a bit of time and energy focusing on keeping yourself healthy and happy, that pays off in your caregiving experience, too.
The demands of being a family caregiver can feel incredibly large, but there are ways to make sure that you’re doing as much as you can to lighten that load. That helps both you and your senior.