As Disability Awareness Month 2023 continues, I want to further discuss caregiving. As a caregiver, it is very easy to become so focused on your responsibilities and the person you are caring for that you ignore your own duties, health, friends, hobbies, etc. While this Caregiver’s To Do list was focused on senior care, it is still very pertinent to all caregivers at any stage in life. How do you find the time, the energy, or even the desire to pull yourself out of the caregiving for a short period to pursue these ideas?
- Always remember to take care of yourself
- Remember to reward yourself
- Have some personal time
- When things don’t go the way you planned, get help
- Last but not the least, protect your health
(source: https://lerablog.org/health/elder-care/a-senior-caregivers-to-do-list/)
Even after years of discussing caregiver here on the blog, I need to listen to these words myself. I become frustrated and fatigued, even angry, when I forgo caring for myself over an extended period of time. It is so easy when your life gets busy to focus on work, family, and caregiving and then overlook your own physical, mental, and emotional health. I do it all too often. My health is something that my wife and I have been putting focused effort into recently. We both understand that when I am healthy and happy, our caregiving routines work much better.
Whether you are parent caring for a child with special needs, you are an adult taking care of aging parents, or you are a caregiver for a spouse with a chronic illness, I want you to encourage you to find those they can care for you as a caregiver. I empathize with you and want to be here for you as well. If you need to chat about your caregiving, life changes you have had to make, or just need a listening ear, please reach out.