It takes a special person to be a family caregiver. You’re spending a lot of your time and energy to ensure that your elderly family member’s needs are met. But you also need to make sure that you’re meeting your own needs. That means taking time away now and again. If you can make it part of your regular routine, that’s even better.
Why Do You Need Time for Yourself?
When you look at everything you have to do as a family caregiver, it might seem impossible to take time for yourself. But if you don’t, that’s going to have serious implications for you. Your own well-being depends on you taking time to rest and recuperate. If you don’t, you may not be able to keep up with being a family caregiver for long.
Look at What Your Obligations Are
You have obligations to your elderly family member, of course. But you probably also have other responsibilities. It’s important to look at all that on paper so that you can see how much you’re truly juggling. From there, you can start to see why it might be crucial for you to take time away.
Calculate How Much Time You Need for Yourself
There’s no one right answer about how much time you need to take. At the very least, though, you should be making sure you’re taking time for the things that you enjoy in your life. Are you keeping up with your hobbies? Are you making time for socializing? Do you get enough sleep? These are all important factors to consider. The time you need for respite one week might not be the same as the next week, so it’s important to touch base with how you’re feeling and what you need.
Line Up Some Help
One of the reasons it feels impossible for family caregivers to take time away is that they forget they can ask for help. Home care assistance can spend time with your elderly family member, helping her and ensuring she is safe, while you’re taking time away. Respite time coverage from senior care professionals allows you to feel confident that your elderly family member is in good hands.
Make Sure You Follow Through
The one thing you might be tempted to do is cancel and avoid taking that time for yourself. But it’s important that you set aside regular time during which you leave your senior with capable home care assistance, and you do whatever else you need to do. That means taking time to relax and ensuring that you’re well-rested enough to face the challenges that you encounter every day as a family caregiver. At first, it might feel too difficult, but that’s why you stick with it.
Taking respite time is more than just something to think about. It’s absolutely necessary for family caregivers to know that they have someone they can trust, so they can rest as needed.