The end of your aging family member’s life is a highly stressful one for you and for other family members. You’ve invested a lot of time and energy in helping her to stay well and you’re likely feeling helpless and frustrated as well.
Celebrate What You’re Doing Well
One big source of stress for you might be a fear or a feeling that you’re just not doing all that you can for your aging adult. You’re doing way more than you think, though. Caregivers often feel that they aren’t doing enough or that what they’re doing isn’t worthy. Give yourself credit for all that you do, even if others aren’t jumping to do the same.
Stay Connected with Other People
This is an important time for your aging adult and she needs you, but you need to maintain your other relationships, too. Reach out to the people you love and make the time to connect with them. These connections can help to keep you going when your senior’s situation feels grim.
Spend Time with Your Senior
The most important relationship for you to maintain, of course, is the one with your aging adult. Even if she’s not able to interact with you in the ways that she has in the past, sit with her and talk with her. you’ll both benefit from the time that you’re spending in connection with each other.
But Take Time Away, Too
Even with all the time you need to devote to other people, probably the most urgent issue is for you to take time away. That can happen alone or as a means of connecting with other people you love, but it needs to be done. Hospice elder care providers can step in while you’re taking care of yourself and ensure that your elderly family member has what she needs. The emotions you’re experiencing are not gentle, easy ones and you need to be able to process them away from your senior.
Keep Your Sense of Humor
Above all, you need to keep your sense of humor. Your ability to laugh along with life is going to be tested and you need to be able to hang onto it. Laughter helps you to dissolve stress, making it that much more urgent to laugh whenever possible.
You’re never going to be able to get rid of all of the stress in your life, of course, but paying attention to when you’re feeling stressed can help you to fight it. When you’ve got strong self-care routines in place, it’s going to be much easier for you to deal with what’s going on.
If you or a loved-one are considering hospice elder care in Roswell, GA, please call the caring staff at Arcturus Hospice and Palliative Care today. Call 678-383-9973 today to speak to our care team.
Kate Gorinshteyn is the director of marketing at Arcturus Health Care. Arcturus is a fast-growing Hospice striving to provide the highest level of quality care to patients faced with life-limiting illnesses. Our goal is to make each patient as pain-free as possible and give physiological, emotional and spiritual support to both the patient and family. We understand that the decision change from curative to comfort care is difficult, and our team is trained to help you every step of the way!
We are proud to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.