Caregiver: Being a busy family caregiver is a great responsibility.
You probably didn’t anticipate doing this, at least not during your 20s or 30s. The average family caregiver is in their late 40s, female, and working either a full-time or part-time job already.
Being a family caregiver is a great responsibility, as we mentioned. As such, there’s going to be a lot of stress that comes along with this job.
Unfortunately, not many people who start out as a family caregiver, think of it as a job. They see it as their responsibility, their duty. They don’t take into account just how much work and time and effort is required to be a quality caregiver.
When you are feeling the effects of stress infiltrate every aspect and corner of your life, you can’t ignore it. Not forever. Eventually, stress will work its way through every aspect of your life, including your relationships, your career, and your health.
If you want to bust stress right out of your life, there are a few ways to do it. We give you three simple stress busters for the busy family caregiver that, when you follow them, you will truly feel less stressed and less worried as a caregiver.
First, look to home care as a support system.
This doesn’t mean you have to replace yourself with a professional, experienced home care aide. It means you can turn to a home care agency for assistance.
When you have help, somebody to step in and look after an aging senior in the mornings, in the evenings, during the afternoons, for five days a week, two, seven, or whenever you need help, it means you won’t have to constantly rush over there or worry when you have other things going on.
It’s usually when we have almost no time to do other important things that we feel stressed starting to build. When you have home care as a support system, you can focus on other things that are also important while not neglecting this aging senior who needs help.
Second, make time for exercise.
You might not be athletic or even physically inclined, but without exercise, your heart will not get stronger. If your heart is not getting stronger, it’s not pumping oxygen throughout the body as it should, which means you might be depriving your brain of valuable oxygen that will help to lower stress levels.
Also, when you exercise regularly, you release endorphins in the brain, which help you feel good. When you have endorphins moving throughout your brain, it leaves less room for the stress hormones.
Third, speak to somebody you trust.
Whether it’s a professional counselor, your best friend, your spouse, or somebody else not associated with this caregiving relationship, you can vent. You can talk about the frustrations you are experiencing.
You can even listen to great counsel, great advice. When you get that, it can help you recalibrate your thought process and that is a wonderful way to help reduce some of the stress you are feeling daily as a caregiver.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring a Caregiver in Sunny Vale, CA, contact the friendly staff at Home Care Professionals today.
Call (866)-940-4855
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