Can You Be a Caregiver and Still Live Your Own Life?

By Kevin Sharples, Owner | October 19, 2017 | Comments Off on Can You Be a Caregiver and Still Live Your Own Life?

Before you started being a caregiver, you had your own life to lead. You still do, even as a caregiver. So how can you reconcile your new responsibilities with the rest of your life?

Senior Care in Plymouth MI: Caregiver Health

Senior Care in Plymouth MI: Caregiver Health

Set Some Priorities

Some of your responsibilities and wants are more important to you because they either need to be or you want them to be. Those are your higher priority tasks and responsibilities. Others fall further down your priority list and that’s okay. Everything can’t be your highest priority. Understanding and acknowledging your priorities shows you where you need extra help.

Look for People Who Can Help

Now you need to look for people who can help. These may be family members, friends, or even elder care providers. Delegating some of your lower priority responsibilities and tasks to others can help you to focus on your high priority items and still meet the needs of everyone in your life.

Take Good Physical Care of Yourself

The better care you’re taking of yourself, the better care you can take of the rest of your life. This means that you need to get enough sleep, eat right, and otherwise pay attention to your physical health. Neglecting your own health is just going to run you down and that doesn’t do anyone any good.

Plan as Much as You Can

Some of the situations that you’re going to run into as a caregiver are ones that you can anticipate. Others are going to be more emergent. If you can plan out the routine situations as much as possible, then you can deal with them much more readily. If you’re not already someone who plans well, you may want to learn some methods that help you.

Take Time Away

You can’t keep going forever and ever without a break. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by caregiving or your other responsibilities, you do need to be able to step away. This is where planning and having people you can delegate to can really shine for you.

Regularly assess how balanced your life is. When you’re feeling out of balance, look for ways to get back into alignment.

 

If you are considering hiring senior care in Plymouth, MI, contact the caring staff at No Place Like Home Health, LLC today. Call (734) 259-4200.

 

Kevin Sharples, Owner
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