Your self-care plan is a massive part of being a caregiver. Think about it from the standpoint that not taking care of yourself leaves your senior on her own, because that might well be true. So how can you take better care of yourself?
Determine Your Starting Point
It’s really easy to be unaware of where your own health stands right now. Being a caregiver means that you’re doing a lot of other stuff. So when you’re starting out, you’re going to need to assess your starting point. If you haven’t been to your own doctor in a while, now is a good time to do just that. From there, you’re going to be able to put some more solid second and third steps down.
Pay Attention to What You Do for You
You already pay a lot of attention to what you do for your senior, but what are you doing just for you? Start treating that as a priority. Make note of what you’re doing that helps you and that protects your own health and safety. Once you notice more about what you’re already doing, you can determine what’s working and what isn’t.
Pretend You’re Someone You’re Caring For
Some caregivers find it really difficult to prioritize themselves. If that’s you, it might be time to try a mind hack. Pretend that you’re someone that you’re taking care of on a regular basis. This isn’t a stretch, really, since you are someone that you need to be taking care of. Think about what you would do for yourself if you were someone who needed more help.Then do those things for yourself.
Track Your Results
The next thing you need to do is to occasionally check in with yourself about how well your solutions are working. When you track your results, you’re going to be able to see what’s effective and what is allowing you to escape your own self-care plans. You might find that you’re not taking any time away, for instance. That’s something you can easily fix by hiring elderly care providers and taking time that is just for you. But if you’re not following up with yourself, you might not notice this lack.
Ignoring your needs is not going to help you to be a fantastic caregiver. If anything, that approach is going to make your time as a caregiver far shorter than you want it to be. Practice excellent self-care so that you can keep being a caregiver for as long as possible.
If you or an aging loved one is considering elderly care in Castle Rock, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today at 303-953-9924.
