Today is a BIG day for me, my e-Book called “Todays Caregivers Guide: A Guide for the Preparation of the Inevitable” has set a new record in sales. Not only that, but I got a lot of positive feedback from YOU, which made me so happy.
Now I would like to thank you with today’s little article, hope you will benefit from it:

No one ever knows how hard acting as a caregiver is until they have actually had to do it themselves. Once you become a caregiver, your life is no longer your own. It is certainly very much like having a child, but it also brings with it the extra stress. You are often watching a loved one deteriorate physically and mentally before your eyes. The toll it takes on you is physical as well as emotional, and most caregivers find that they carry the entire burden of the caregiving themselves. To provide good care for your loved, however, you need to be good to yourself and try to make the caring process as stress-free as possible. These tips and helpful hints will guide you in making the caring process go as smoothly as it can, do you can look after yourself and your patient.

There are two main sets of tips for caregivers – those that make the actual caring easier and those that help caregivers get a little bit of relaxation and a much needed break. In terms of making the caring process easier, think about the things that you do for your patient that you might be able to empower them to do for themselves. If the patient needs help finding their personal items and then has no idea where to put them away, you can consider labeling drawers and cabinets with little notes that tell where everything is. Your patient will relish the chance to be independent enough to not have to ask for your help, and the note may also encourage them to put things away easily so you don’t have to go behind them and clean up. If your patient is bedridden, keep a selection of things they may need close to them, including books, TV remote, tissues, and more. That way they have the ability to get some of what they need and want without your help.

If you frequently take your patient out in the car with you, make sure you care is stocked with everything you may need. Incontinence is a frequent problem with patients who need care, so make sure all of the materials you need to deal with an accident are in your car, so you can deal with the problem swiftly and with as little discomfort to the patient as possible. Likewise, keep important phone numbers and backups of any medications in your car just in case.

Caring for yourself is as important as caring for your patient – if you’re not operating at 100%, you won’t be giving them 100% care. But carving out the time you need to relax and recharge when you’re the primary caregiver can be next to impossible. To make sure you get some time, first, look for the little bits of time you can steal to yourself daily. If your patient is napping, instead of running around doing the cleaning, take some time to read a book or watch a favorite TV show. After your patient goes to bed at night, develop a relaxing routine like taking a bath or unwinding with some of your favorite music.

When you need a longer break, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. If there are no family members or friends around to step in and help you, then investigate adult day care services or home health care services. You need to get away for your own emotional and physical wellbeing, so don’t be afraid to ask for the help you need. If you don’t know where to start, check out your local caregivers’ support group for advice on the resources that are available in your area.

The caregiver role can be quite rewarding yet it is also a challenging experience that not only tries you physically and mentally but emotionally as well. And when the caregiving lasts over a long period of time, the result is stress and a lot of it. You will feel all of these conflicting emotions that you feel guilty for experiencing especially when you have experienced such positive aspects in your caregiving relationship with your ailing loved one.

Of all the experiences you derive from caregiving, the emotional demands are perhaps the most draining. With stress held within the body physically, you can experience some relief with a hot bath or massage but what about the stress that resides in your emotions? You have to find some type of relief that touches your soul so you can rest at night and feel refreshed for the caregiving day ahead.

Each person needs something different when it comes to assuaging those emotional issues that builds up during your caregiving experience. Here are some problems you may experience along with some suggestions to consider for emotional relief:

1. Caregiving can tend to bring on a sense of isolation because your friends and family are out in the world while you are inside tending to your ill loved one.

Break that sense of isolation by getting out and taking a walk or a drive. If you have no one to relieve you at that moment, bundle up your loved in a wheelchair and roll them around the neighborhood park or take them for a drive in the country. Even a trip to the grocery store with your loved one in a motorized chair or wheelchair should help.

2. You might lack the time to engage in personal hobbies and relaxation time is hard to come by during your caregiving duties.

No one said that you should be the sole person caring for your loved one. If you are married, prevail on your spouse or even an older child to sit with your loved one and spend some time with them. You can then leave the house, meet a friend or do whatever you want. And best of all, other people are connecting to your loved one which means that they feel as if they are in the loop of activity and not isolated either.

3. You may feel that you have no one to turn to or that no one understands what you are going through. Overburdened is a natural effect of caregiving and you may also feel that you have no control over your life.

The bottom line is that you need to seek help for these feelings. Turn to a trusted friend, minister or counselor and talk about what you’re feeling. You need affirmation that it is ok to feel angry, sad, resentful and even guilty. Consider joining a support group for caregivers, others who have walking in the same overburdened shoes you are.

You have got to be realistic about the demands of caregiving and know up front that you are not going to be everything to everybody unless you get some help. Before you sign on as caregiver to your sick loved one, examine your home atmosphere, schedule and other aspects of your life. What would caregiving interrupt? How can you work around it? Who can you enlist to help when needed? Outlining some of the sources of potential emotional distress in advance means that you can work hard to avoid them during your caregiving tenure. That is not to say that you won’t ever experience stress but that you will recognize it for what it is and react accordingly before it morphs into a more serious problem.