Caregivers: 6 Tips to Help With Your Mental Health

If you’re a caregiver, you may find it rewarding and challenging to care for a senior loved one who needs your help. However, the many hours of physical and emotional stress that come with caregiving can add up, taking a toll on your mental health. This could lead you to feel burnt out, so you’re no longer an effective caregiver. 

So, just what steps can you take as a caregiver to make sure you stay mentally strong? Here are a few tips.

1.  Recognize the symptoms of caregiver stress. Some of the symptoms include:

  • Feeling tired all the time.
  • Feeling constantly worried.
  • Gaining or losing weight.
  • Not having an interest in activities you usually enjoy.
  • Having physical complaints that you didn’t have before, such as headaches.
  • Abusing alcohol or drugs, which can include prescription medications.

If you are having these symptoms, it’s time to talk to your doctor or mental health professional.

2. Seek help from others. There are only so many hours in a day, and there’s only so much we can get done in those hours. Don’t be afraid to seek help from others who want to lend a hand. Pick certain tasks that others can easily do, and let them handle those tasks so you can do something else—even if it’s just taking a break.

3. Educate yourself. If you are caring for a senior loved one with a chronic condition, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, all the best intentions can be lost if you don’t have some background on how to care for someone with that condition. Take time to read articles or books or participate in conferences or webinars to help educate yourself about the specific health problem. As a bonus, you may meet others who are in the same situation as you, and you can share ideas or frustrations together.

4. Find support. Support groups give you a place to share stories and find solutions with other people in the same situation. Many support groups are now online, saving the time and hassle of going in person. There are also support groups through social media sites such as Facebook, where you can read messages from others and respond or share your own experiences on your own time. Here’s a list of several types of caregiver-focused support groups.

5. Keep up with your own health. All the basics you’ve heard before—eating healthy, exercising, and making time to destress—are more important than ever if you are a caregiver. Make sure to see your doctor for routine appointments and vaccinations.

6. Lean on the pros to help. Secure Aging offers care management to take the burden off of you. We can help hire and manage home health workers and monitor the overall safety and well-being of your loved one. Our care management service is ideal for caregivers who need a break or loved ones who don’t live in the Bradenton area. Call us today at 941-761-9338, and discover how we can help.

Call Secure Aging to Find Out How We Can Help Seniors With Care Management

At Secure Aging in Bradenton, we transform the weight of the world into a sigh of relief for our senior clients and their concerned family members. The mission of Secure Aging is to protect and preserve our client’s independence and dignity through careful and thoughtful financial and care management. As our clients’ age, it is their desire to remain independent and age with dignity. Our services protect our clients from talented con artists looking to exploit and deplete the financial resources of our vulnerable seniors. Secure Aging helps families in Manatee County and Sarasota County and in and around the communities of Anna Maria, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Ellenton, Holmes Beach, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Myakka City, Palmetto, Parrish, and Sarasota. Call us at 941-761-9338, or visit us online at www.secureaging.com.

Comments are closed.