4 Tips for Maintaining Your Identity as a Family Caregiver

Caregiver in Calabassas CA

Caregiving takes a lot of time and energy and, if you aren’t careful, it’s easy to lose yourself entirely. This can lead to stress and guilt, though, which then take a further toll on you. It’s essential that you learn how to keep your sense of self intact in order to be the caregiver that your loved one needs you to be.

Carve Out Time for Yourself

When you’re taking care of an elderly loved one, it’s very common to fill your days with tasks and responsibilities that relate to keeping your loved one safe and happy. The problem with that is that you often forget to leave room in your schedule for yourself. Make sure that you set aside time each day, even just half an hour, that is your own time. Maybe you schedule time for a bubble bath or time to read every day. The key is to recognize that you need “you time.”

Learn to Let Go for a Little While

Another common problem is that family caregivers try to take time for themselves, recognizing that this is a key to remaining healthy themselves, and then spend that time worrying about what is going on with their elderly loved one. If you’re able to get away for a couple of hours, learn to let go of caregiving for those precious moments. Hire home care providers that you find trustworthy and then let them do their jobs. That way you can reap the most benefit from your time away.

When You Make Plans, Keep Them

Sometimes family caregivers make plans and then back out of them at the last minute. This is often because they worry that something is going to come up while they’re away. Try to get away from this habit if you find yourself caught in this circle. Do everything that you can to ease your mind and then make sure that other family members or senior care providers know how to contact you in the unlikely event that there is an emergency while you’re gone.

Let Go of Guilt

An underlying emotion when family caregivers are unable to give themselves space and time on their own is that they shouldn’t be taking any time. This boils down to simple guilt and it can be difficult to shake. Your loved one wouldn’t want you to sacrifice every moment and every shred of yourself just to take care of her, so try to stop being so hard on yourself. Taking time for yourself will ultimately help you to be a better caregiver.

Maintaining your own identity is essential in order to keep yourself and your loved one healthier.

If you or an aging loved one needs caregiver services in Calabassas, CA, call Livewell Private Care at (310) 933-4986.  Servicing Los Angeles, CA and the surrounding areas.