Elder Care Survival Tips
If you’re looking after an elderly loved one, it can be really tough at times, especially if you have no experience with elder care and have your own life to work around too. Looking after yourself and keeping your sanity is really important to ensure not only that you are healthy, but also so that you can do the best job possible.
We’ve come up with a few elder care survival tips to hopefully help you along the way.
Ensure your lifestyle is as healthy as possible
Looking after yourself is imperative, as it’s no good looking after someone else’s health if it means your own will suffer! Ensure you get enough rest physically and even mentally, and optimise your diet so that you’re eating well and have a sufficient amount of energy and vitamins.
Plan ahead
Getting prepared and having a bit of an ‘action plan’ is a really good idea, so those hurdles you have to face don’t feel quite so big each time you come to them. Think about long term solutions to issues your loved one faces, such as realistically, how long they can stay where they are. Looking at things like retirement villages or care homes with companies like extra care is a good place to start, for example.
Ask for help when you need it
You’re unlikely to be able to do it all by yourself, and that’s certainly not a crime. Looking for some extra help; whether professional help or extra assistance from family or friends; is perfectly natural and will be a benefit to you all. Aim to get the whole family involved where possible to help share the load of caring for your loved one, or even just helping you and your own family out a little.
Look into new helpful resources
There are loads of communities out there that will offer help and support to carers of all ages, such as this care website that’s worth looking at if you’d like to see some advice and tips. You could join support groups with other carers to swap stories and tips, and also just simply so that you have someone to talk to who is going through similar experiences.
Make sure you consult them where you can
When being looked after by someone, it can soon feel really overwhelming and your loved one may feel like they are losing control of their own life, which can be quite an unpleasant thought. Therefore consulting them where you can on big decisions (and even every-day decisions) will be really important for maintaining a good care bond, and to ensure their wants are met, as well as their needs.
Take time for yourself
Taking time out to rejuvenate is really important, as is ensuring you’re spending enough time with your own family and by yourself. Don’t feel guilty by accepting that you will need some relief from your care duties; it’s perfectly natural and acceptable and is actually vital for making sure you keep doing such a great job.
