Tips for Protecting Your Quality of Life When Facing Stress

Stress is a normal part of life and can even be beneficial.

Feeling stress can indicate that you are facing a challenge or that you need to take a step back and take care of yourself. When this stress reaches a level at which you feel overwhelmed or pressured everyday, or you begin to suffer health and well-being consequences, and it can be a serious negative influence on your life. This can dramatically diminish your quality of life. As a family caregiver, you are more likely than other adults to experience stress and suffer the health and well-being consequences associated with it. Fortunately, there are ways that you can protect your quality of life when facing the stress of being a family caregiver.

Use these tips to help you protect your quality of life when you are facing stress as a family caregiver:

• • Acknowledge the risk of stress. Feeling stress does not mean that you are not a good caregiver for your aging parent or that you do not want to be a family caregiver. Acknowledging to yourself that stress is a possibility can better prepare you for it and reduce the guilt you may feel if you find yourself experiencing stress.

• • Don’t overlook the importance of your parent-child relationship with your aging adult. Simply because you are a family caregiver for them does not mean that you should not continue to find ways to spend quality time with them and enjoy your relationship outside of your care efforts. Not only can this help you to make memories that both you will cherish, but it can also reduce the stress and anxiety of care.

• • Schedule time for yourself on a regular basis. This can be as simple as sipping your favorite beverage and watching a television show, or it can more elaborate such as a getaway. Having time for yourself allows your mind to relax and heal, while having something to look forward to can make even the most difficult and stressful situations more tolerable.

• • Consider home care for your aging parents. Having a care provider as part of your care routine can be a great step toward reducing your stress and enabling you to better care for yourself while caring for your parents.

Being a family caregiver for an elderly adult can be extremely meaningful and fulfilling, but it can also be stressful. Trying to manage all of your parent’s needs as well as those of your children, your marriage, your home, your career, and any other obligations can make you feel overwhelmed and as though you are always trying to finish more than you have the time to do.

Fortunately, home care can be there for you. An in-home care provider can step in to fill care gaps, manage potentially sensitive tasks that your parent or you are not comfortable with you handling, provide additional support and companionship, and give your parent the personalized services that they need to have the highest quality of life as they age in place. As their caregiver this will ease your stress, give you more time, and allow you to focus on all of the responsibilities of your life in the ways that are right for you and for your parent.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Elderly Care in Sandy Springs, GA, please contact the friendly staff at Certified Home Care of Georgia. Call today 770-635-8042

Source:
Stress.org
Caregiver.org