Do you ever worry about your aging family members? Does the stress of caring for them become too much? It is understandable that we support and care for our family members and loved ones but are we neglecting ourselves as a result? Research has found that one out of every eight adult who is forty to sixty years old is caring for an aging parent while seven to ten million more people are caring for their parent or a loved one at distance. This number is expected to increase due to the number of baby boomers out there. Many family members we work with complain of things like fatigue, stress, impoverished health, and emotional distress. If you are dealing with this, lets start off with , it is normal ! Caring for an aging loved one can be taxing on our overall wellbeing. There are things you can do to feel better. Here are 3 helpful tips:
- Focus on what is working instead of what isn’t working
- Take some time to write down what is going well in your life
- Once you choose a couple of things take a second and show gratitude
- Think about everything you accomplished today instead of what you still have to do.
- Try to get some sleep
- The more sleep you get the more you can do for your caring loved one
- Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup
- Have an outlet, speak to a friend, see a therapist, join a support group, or exercise
- Don’t feel guilty for feeling angry or overwhelmed, its okay to say THIS SUCKS!
- Take some time for yourself to let out built up emotions because if not the stress and the emotional distress will just get worse.
Remember caring from an aging loved one is not an easy task and you deserve to help yourself through the process. It can be especially hard if you are caring for your loved one from a distance! If you need help give us a call @ (305)900-7203 and we would be happy guide you in some possible resources!
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