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Stories and Strategies to Help You Juggle the Challenges of Long-Term Care

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Avoiding Burnout: Support for New Caregivers

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a person standing on a yoga mat on the floor
Even a small corner of a room can be a useful haven during a caregiver’s day. Unroll a yoga mat and do simple stretches to practice mindfulness and relieve body tension. Photo by Jeongsun Lee via Unsplash

 

Becoming a caregiver is a deeply rewarding yet demanding role, often requiring long hours, emotional resilience, and constant attention to another’s needs. When you’re caught up in providing care, it’s easy to overlook personal well-being. But neglecting self-care can lead to burnout, stress, and declining health.

New caregivers, whether young people caring for their older people or spouses caring for their partners, must find ways to balance their responsibilities while maintaining their own physical, mental, and emotional wellness. Prioritizing self-care isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity that enables caregivers to provide better support while sustaining their own energy and well-being.

Embracing the Power of Saying No

As a new caregiver, understanding the significance of setting boundaries is essential. You do this to safeguard your mental and physical health. By learning to say no to additional commitments that could overwhelm your emotional reserves, you must prioritize your well-being. That’s the best way to prevent burnout. Don’t let family members pile on more hours than you can realistically give. Try to consistently decline tasks that exceed your ability to do them. For instance, if you cannot lift the person you’re caring for, don’t wreck your back trying to. Talk about hiring help with the other stakeholders–siblings, health care professionals, and the like.

Enthusiasm is highest when you’re just starting out. Most people who become caregivers do so for the noblest of reasons. They want to express their love for the person who has given them love throughout their lifetime. But be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Your goal is to maintain a balanced lifestyle, ensuring you have the energy and motivation to fulfill the commitment you’ve made to the person who needs help.

Balancing Career and Caregiving with Online Education

Not all caregivers are family members. Let’s say you’re in your twenties and caring for an older person who needs a companion. Possibly, you’re a college student working in exchange for room and board or a grandchild, niece, or nephew. Whatever your circumstances, pursuing your career and educational goals doesn’t have to take a backseat. Online degree programs offer a flexible solution, allowing you to manage work, study, and caregiving responsibilities effectively. For instance, earning an IT degree online can equip you with valuable skills in information technology and cybersecurity, fields that are increasingly in demand. This enhances your career prospects for the day when your time is freed up again. If you’d like to learn more, this resource may help.

Creating a Tranquil Home

Cultivating a home environment that supports your well-being through relaxation and healthy habits is crucial. Transforming a corner of living room into a dedicated wellness space, like a cozy yoga studio or a spa-inspired bathroom, can significantly enhance your self-care routine. Incorporating elements such as natural light, indoor plants, and calming colors can amplify the sense of tranquility and rejuvenation.

Developing a mindfulness practice could be your single most important tool in keeping exhaustion and burnout at bay. Even if you’re providing care in someone else’s home, be sure to carve out some space for yourself. Even rolling out a yoga mat in a corner will allow you do some stretches.

Honoring Your Personal Interests

Prioritizing your own interests and hobbies is essential for a fulfilling life beyond your caregiving duties. Engaging in activities you love not only helps you recharge but also provides a much-needed break from the demands of caregiving, allowing you to return with renewed energy and focus. By exploring hobbies, you can better manage your mental health and preserve your identity, even when your free time is limited.

Finding a Supportive Caregiver Community

Whether you’re a paid or unpaid caregiver, the challenges of this work are immense. Maybe you’re having to pull back from your full time job to do it. Maybe you’re doing it because there’s no one else in your family who will. Whatever drew you to this role, you are not the first or only person who finds themselves performing tasks they never imagined they’d do. Joining a network of fellow caregivers is crucial for sharing resources, practical advice, and emotional support. By connecting with others who have similar experiences, you can discover strategies and insights that might not be easily accessible elsewhere. More important, you can develop deep friendships. Warmth and caring from others will recharge your batteries.

Online platforms host numerous support groups that offer solace and guidance. These virtual communities are especially beneficial for those in remote areas, providing a sense of belonging and understanding.

Cultivating a Deeper Sense of Gratitude

Incorporating gratitude into your daily routine can profoundly enhance your experience as a caregiver, fostering a more positive mindset. By focusing on the aspects of life you appreciate, whether they are small joys like a sunny day or significant events like favorable medical results, you can alleviate stress and improve your mental well-being. This practice not only boosts your mood by releasing serotonin and dopamine, hormones associated with happiness, but also enhances your physical health by lowering blood pressure and improving sleep quality.

Recognizing Your Limits to Prevent Burnout

Understanding and respecting your personal limits is essential in preventing burnout, a condition of chronic stress that can significantly affect your well-being. By setting clear boundaries and learning to say no, you can protect your mental health and maintain a manageable workload. Effectively managing tasks and achieving goals can enhance job satisfaction and motivation, reducing the likelihood of feeling overwhelmed. It’s crucial to communicate your limits to family members and even to the person you’re caring for.

Caring for someone else starts with caring for yourself. If you can make time for rest, seek support, and establish personal boundaries, you will stay strong, both physically and emotionally. By embracing self-care, you can maintain your well-being and provide the best possible support for the person you’ve promised to help.

 

Karen Weeks is a senior lifestyle blogger who believes nothing is off limits to seniors. After retirement, she struggled to find a new sense of purpose. She created www.Elderwellness.net – a resource for seniors who wish to keep their minds, bodies and spirits well.

Yoga and Meditation: A Beginner’s Guide

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As Bette Davis said, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” Age brings with it many difficulties, even for seniors who are healthy. For caregivers, life can get extra stressful. You can stay so busy taking care of other people that you forget about yourself. Yoga and meditation can assist both seniors and caregivers with these issues. Here are some of the benefits of the two practices and how you can start today.

yoga and meditation
Meditation and yoga can help both seniors and caregivers.

Yoga

Yoga benefits you physically and mentally by helping you tune into your body to develop awareness and strength. There are over 100 kinds of yoga. Most consist of a core regimen of poses that work different muscle groups and incorporate breathing exercises and meditation. Along with mitigating various types of chronic pain, yoga is also associated with lowering blood pressure and promoting quality sleep. Furthermore, you can expect improvements to your flexibility, muscle and core strength, respiration, energy, injury prevention, and cardio and circulatory health. Some mental health benefits include mental clarity, relaxation, focused attention, and sharper concentration. Perhaps most importantly, yoga can significantly reduce stress and the harmful effects it has on the mind and body.

Meditation

Almost all yoga sessions involve some form of meditation, which is responsible for many of the mental benefits that come with yoga. In addition to those benefits, meditation changes brain physiology and slows the aging process. People who meditate tend to have more gray matter in their brains. This means they have more brain cells and heightened cognitive function.

Probably the most unique benefit that meditation offers is increased self-awareness. The act of exploring your inner self can give you a fresh perspective. A change in perspective can help you learn to accept hardships in life and make changes where you can. Moreover, practicing meditation often gives you the desire to put only good things in your body, which encourages a healthier lifestyle.

Getting Started

Regardless of your age or what kind of shape you’re in, you can start yoga with hardly any equipment. Just purchase a non-slip yoga mat and put on some comfortable clothes. While taking a yoga class in person with a professional trainer is a great way to begin, finding a good instructional DVD also works well. You can even find free online videos to get you started. Just remember to be patient and keep an open mind. You’ll see results in no time.

As far as meditation goes, it’s best to keep it simple. You can do it anywhere and anytime, as long as it’s a quiet place and you have set aside time to relax.

When starting out, it’s best to sit down and set a timer. Begin with meditating for five minutes and work your way up as you progress. Breathing-focused meditation is a great one to start with, which is literally sitting and focusing on your breathing. Anytime your thoughts move from your breath to something else, recalibrate your focus back on your breathing. Doing this over and over until the timer stops is how your attention span and focus is improved over time.

Stretching

If you’ve started yoga and meditation (or plan to), another way to benefit your health is to add stretching to your daily routine. When done regularly and correctly, stretching eases stress, tension, pain, and stiffness in the body. It also increases blood flow to your muscles, which gets rid of waste byproducts and brings nourishment to your muscles. When your muscles are loose, they help you maintain good posture, which minimizes aches and pains. Stretching is also good for your joints, which leads to better balance and coordination. Particularly as you get older, balance and coordination help you stay mobile and prevent injuries from falls.

Whether you’re a senior who wants to improve your health (or stay healthy) or a caretaker who wants to manage your stress level, yoga and meditation are among the best activities to add to your life. The best part is that anyone can do it. Just start moving and focusing your mind today. You’ll soon begin to notice improvements to your overall health.

For more on the benefits of maintaining your mental health, watch this YouTube video.

 

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Does Self-Care = Selfish?

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soccer moms at games
Meet these soccer moms. They’re women on the go, juggling the multiple balls of jobs, childrearing, and bringing snacks to games.

Over the course of a lifetime, women take on many roles: student, worker, sister, daughter, niece, mother, soccer mom, homework helper, pet feeder, and caregiver. We never seem to give any of these roles up! We just pile on more.

For more, read this article: theenergyproject.com

For many of the women pictured at right, this may be the only time in the day they have to pause and take a breath.

Why do women have trouble understanding that self-care doesn’t equal “being selfish?” Did we hear that from our mothers, or simply observe that that’s the way women acted? I was praised for being selfless. A woman who was “self-sacrificing” for the sake of her family deserved praise.

As a young mother I instinctively knew that my children’s needs came first, and mine dead last. Overextending myself, particularly in the lack of sleep department, made me short-tempered, but I simply couldn’t imagine that a single mother with four small kids could find relief from the rat race of job, shopping, meals, music lessons, and after school sports. I wanted my children to have “it” all–the good life, whatever that meant. I pushed  back the thought that I wanted a good life, too.

Self-Care and the Oxygen Mask Analogy

On an American Airlines flight, that all changed. The flight attendant demonstrated the oxygen mask and then said the adults were to put theirs on first, before putting masks on the kids.

“Who are they kidding?” I thought. Of course, I would put the kids’ masks on first.

In the years since hearing that for the first time, I’ve thought about self-care and selfishness, and realized that the oxygen mask was about more than what I should do in an airplane emergency. The oxygen mask stood for the daily habits of nutrition and exercise that I am still trying to put in practice.

 

Why do women have trouble understanding that self-care doesn’t equal “being selfish?” Did we hear that from our mothers, or simply observe that that’s the way women acted? I was praised for being selfless. A woman who was “self-sacrificing” for the sake of her family deserved praise.

As a young mother I instinctively knew that my children’s needs came first, and mine dead last. Overextending myself, particularly in the lack of sleep department, made me short-tempered, but I simply couldn’t imagine that a single mother with four small kids could find relief from the rat race of job, shopping, meals, music lessons, and after school sports. I wanted my children to have “it” all–the good life, whatever that meant. I pushed  back the thought that I wanted a good life, too.

On an American Airlines flight, that all changed. The flight attendant demonstrated the oxygen mask and then said the adults were to put theirs on first, before putting masks on the kids.

“Who are they kidding?” I thought. Of course, I would put the kids’ masks on first.

In the years since hearing that for the first time, I’ve thought about self-care and selfishness, and realized that the oxygen mask was about more than what I should do in an airplane emergency. The oxygen mask stood for the daily habits of nutrition and exercise that I am still trying to put in practice.

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