As a caregiver for an aging loved one, your days are filled with duties and responsibilities that can cause you to feel exhausted and run down. Burnout and caregiver stress are serious concerns that should not be ignored. According to research, 46% of caregivers experience depression, and there are many other signs to watch out for. These include a decrease in energy, constantly feeling sick, getting little to no satisfaction from caregiving, feeling helpless and hopeless, and being irritable with your loved one.
To prevent burnout, it’s important to make some simple lifestyle changes. Start by visiting your doctor to ensure that any underlying medical conditions are being managed. Exercise is also key, even if it just means walking around the yard or jogging up and down the driveway. Practicing meditation and deep breathing can also help to relax your mind and reduce stress. In addition, it’s important to eat a healthy diet and get plenty of rest.
By taking the time to care for yourself, you can reduce the risk of burnout and maintain your ability to provide the best care for your loved one. Home Care Ipswich can provide respite care which can help to prevent burnout and provide caregivers with the support they need. Taking the time to care for yourself is essential for both your physical and mental wellbeing.
- You are constantly sick and rundown
- You are constantly exhausted even though you sleep at night
- You neglect your own needs because you’re too busy or you don’t care anymore
- Caregiving is a source of anxiety and gives you little satisfaction
- You’re increasingly impatient and irritable with the person you’re caring for
- You feel helpless and hopeless.
There are ways to address these feelings and regain your energy with simple, common sense strategies. If you are suffering from burnout, some of these suggestions may seem impossible to carry out. You really have no choice; to ignore burnout is to risk your ability to care for your loved one.
1. See a doctor:
Make a doctor’s appointment with your primary care physician. There may be underlying causes for your fatigue and malaise like high or low blood pressure or high or low blood sugar. Your doctor can help you get back on track to good health.
2. Exercise a little every day:
You don’t have to go to the gym. Walk around the yard. Jog up and down the driveway. Put on some music and dance inside the house. Moving will increase the amount of oxygen in your heart, lungs and brain and will help you to feel better immediately. When seniors exercise regularly and work fitness into their daily routines, it will boost their energy levels and help fight fatigue.
3. Learn to meditate:
This doesn’t mean that you have to go to a mountain top retreat! It means that you find a quiet spot every day for 5 or 10 minutes of quiet reflection and deep breathing. When your loved one takes a nap, sit in a chair and practice deep breathing for relaxation. Find a beginner’s Yoga practice on DVD, online or through a television service. Yoga will relax your muscles, your mind and improve your energy levels.
4. Eat well for more energy:
Feed your body with healthy food that will fuel your energy. Fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lean protein, and healthy fats such as nuts and olive oil will give you steady energy.
5. Get a good night’s sleep:
Using the hours when you should be sleeping for other tasks will actually give you diminishing returns. You need 8 hours of sleep a night. When you get less, your mood, energy, productivity, and ability to handle stress will suffer.
Caregivers spend most of their time caring for our loved ones, subsequently creating an opening for stress, fatigue, and breakdowns. Preventing caregiver burnout can’t be done with tact and preparation; additionally, Home Care Ipswich also offers respite care to support and mitigate this unfortunate phenomenon.
