There’s formal, hands-on caregiving, but there is also a more informal type of caregiving that you may not realize is happening. This might be neighbors offering to run errands for your senior or friends helping her out here and there. It might be a good idea to assess both formal and informal caregiving to see where it needs bolstering.
Talk to Your Senior about Her Top “Go To” Supporters
You’re probably at the top of your senior’s list in terms of caregiving support, but there are other people she relies on, too. It helps if you know something about these other caregiving supports. They may be people who help out randomly or only in one specific way, but the factor that brings everyone on the list together is that they help in your senior’s care in some manner.
Learn What You Can about Your Senior’s Needs
Your senior’s needs do change over time, which is something you likely already experience. But when you’re least expecting it, those needs shift a bit. If it’s been a while since you last checked in with her, now might be a good time to do just that. Figure out what your senior needs most right now and determine how you’re able to help her, if you’re able to do so.
Add Some Extra Resources
Between you and the rest of your senior’s go to support team, you might have a lot of her needs covered. But it’s also possible that you’re seeing some gaps that haven’t been there in the past. Home care providers are a reliable, experienced way to fill in those areas that need some extra support. Home care can help your elderly family member at a variety of levels, even if the degree of help she needs ebbs and flows from one week to another.
Examine Your Feelings about All of This
Some caregivers find this to be more emotionally difficult than they expect it to be. If you’re of the mindset that you should be able to provide all the help that your senior needs, you might be feeling a bit of guilt or disappointment if you’re not able to follow through on that expectation. Readjusting your expectations to reality can help a great deal. It also helps to simply take a look at what your feelings are and examining them without judging them.
What you’re able to offer your senior in the way of tools and assistance is likely more than you realize. Remember to take stock now and again to make sure your senior is getting what she needs.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering home care in Denver, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
