{"id":33383,"date":"2016-01-25T17:13:46","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T17:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/choicehome.flywheelsites.com\/a-guide-to-caregiver-self-care\/"},"modified":"2016-01-25T17:13:46","modified_gmt":"2016-01-25T17:13:46","slug":"a-guide-to-caregiver-self-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/a-guide-to-caregiver-self-care\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Caregiver Self-Care"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n

Caregivers often mistakenly believe that the majority of their effort, attention, focus, and love must be directed exclusively to the loved one in their care. While this is an admirable approach, consider the expression \u201cyou can\u2019t pour from an empty cup.\u201d Caregivers must place a priority on caring for and nurturing themselves in mind, body, and spirit before they can direct that same attention and care to the loved one in their care.<\/p>\n

Allocating time to take care of yourself doesn\u2019t not make you a selfish person. To the contrary, this \u201cmy time\u201d is the fuel that allows the caregiver to \u201cpour\u201d love to others. Without practicing proper self-care, you are on the path to caregiver burnout. <\/p>\n

Tips for Providing Great Care to Yourself as a Caregiver<\/h2>\n

Being the caregiver of someone you love is a big responsibility. It requires time, patience, and understanding. It is a significant commitment and that means you need to first take care of yourself so that you can sustain the care without getting worn down. <\/p>\n

Understand Your Loved One\u2019s Plight <\/h2>\n

It might be helpful to research the symptoms of the person you are caring for in order to better understand what they go through on a daily basis. Reach out to healthcare professionals and ask questions about symptoms and care management practices.  Feeling run down and tired from being a caregiver is understandable, but your loved one might be dealing with a whole lot more. Use your empathy and compassion to establish a better perspective of what the loved one is going through. Better understanding your loved one will also make you a more effective caregiver. For example, if the caregiver understands that confusion and stubbornness are symptoms<\/em> of Alzheimer\u2019s and not willful behaviour, the caregiver will not waste effort and energy on feeling angry, frustrated, and exasperated with their loved one. Understanding certain reactions from the loved one are the products of an illness and not a reflection of the loved one\u2019s true feelings can make the process easier. <\/p>\n

Take a Break <\/h2>\n

The importance of taking a break cannot be overstated. Whether you need to sit down for twenty minutes during the day or take a weekend to yourself, it\u2019s vital that you do what is necessary to ensure you\u2019ll be able to carry on. Do not exhaust yourself or grind yourself down. Even short breaks can be refreshing. <\/p>\n

Forgive Yourself <\/h2>\n

Your loved one is going through a hard time and needs a committed caregiver, but that doesn\u2019t mean they need a superhero. Try not to feel so guilty about your loved one\u2019s plight, and understand that it is just a part of life. Seeking inner peace is a great way to practice self-care. <\/p>\n

Find Ways to Have Fun <\/h2>\n

Getting a few minutes to rest or taking a day off might be impossible sometimes, so you\u2019ll have to find some ways to laugh through it all. Read a book, watch a movie in the background, or share a story with your loved one. Remember: laughter is the best medicine.<\/p>\n

For more information about caregiver self-care, Choice Homecare is here to help. Give us a call at 613-907-3191 and we\u2019d be happy to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caregivers often mistakenly believe that the majority of their effort, attention, focus, and love must be directed exclusively to the loved one in their care. Allocating time to take care of yourself doesn\u2019t not make you a selfish person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caregiving"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dmg.org.in\/choicehomecare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}