Family caregivers often sign up for their roles thinking they’ll have to make a few sacrifices. However, many people aren’t prepared for just how all-consuming taking care of a senior loved one really is. These six sacrifices are common among caregivers, but you can take steps to minimize their impact on your life.
1. Lost Time
Most family caregivers begin slowly by helping their loved ones with a few basic activities each day, such as cleaning up around the house. Over time, you may find the amount of time you spend caregiving keeps increasing. Eventually, caregivers tend to discover they have more chores to do each day than time permits. This is a sign you need to seek help from other caregivers to prevent burnout.
If you’re the primary family caregiver for an elderly loved one and need additional assistance providing high-quality elderly home care, Home Care Assistance can help. We are a leading home care agency committed to changing the way seniors age.
2. Decreased Physical Health
You might be tempted to skip your annual checkup at the doctor when your loved one needs help getting to his or her own medical appointment. Too often, these checkups don’t get rescheduled, and you could soon find yourself experiencing preventable health problems that impact your ability to perform your caregiving duties. Respite care is an option that gives you a few hours a week or a month to handle your personal needs.
Family caregivers need to care for their own wellbeing. If you’re caring for an aging loved one and are feeling overwhelmed, consider hiring a professional caregiver to provide respite care. Edmonton families who want to prevent burnout can turn to Home Care Assistance. One of our professional caregivers can assist your loved one at home while you take a nap, go to work, run errands, or go on vacation.
3. Missed Special Moments
At one point in your life, you might not have ever imagined you’d miss your child’s school play or skip an anniversary date. Those special moments are still important for you to maintain your mental health. This is another area where it’s perfectly okay to ask someone to step in so you can make it to that awards dinner or hold your first grandchild.
4. Delayed Financial Goals
Family caregivers often miss work or are forced to put their careers on hold completely. This could delay your retirement or cause you to miss out on important opportunities to progress up the career ladder. In many cases, the cost of hiring an additional caregiver for your loved one is less expensive than what you’ll lose financially if you quit work or miss too many days.
5. Strained Family Relationships
Sibling rivalries can come to a head when you can’t agree on who should take care of your parent during busy moments in your lives, or you might all have very different thoughts on the best ways to provide care. You may also run into the issue of a role conflict with your parent. Many family caregivers prefer to hire professional caregivers to handle personal hygiene care or to serve as neutral parties when making care decisions.
6. Reduced Personal Satisfaction
As your duties stack up, you may begin to feel like you cannot do anything right. Family caregivers often experience low self-esteem, guilt, and frustration when they should be proud of what they do. Self-care is critical to prevent you from sacrificing your mental health. Be willing to schedule a meeting with a counselor, take a bubble bath, or do whatever else makes you feel strong and capable. Simply having someone give you a break for an hour or two each week can reduce the mental strain of caregiving.
Seniors can face a variety of age-related challenges. Though some families choose to take on the caregiving duties, there may come a time when they need a trusted Edmonton home care service provider. Families sometimes need respite from their duties so they can focus on their other responsibilities, and some seniors need around-the-clock assistance that their families are not able to provide. Home Care Assistance is here to help. To learn about our high-quality in-home care services, give us a call at (780) 490-7337 today.