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The New Year promises a fresh start. Caregivers are apt to make resolutions on January 1 and hopefully follow through with them in the new year. They take this day to reevaluate goals, expectations, and attitudes. Following are positive New Year’s resolutions especially for caregivers.
Self-care should be on every caregiver’s list of New Year’s resolutions. Being healthy emotionally and physically are what allow caregivers to perform their caregiving tasks responsibility. Even making a single resolution, no matter how small, and sticking to it is progress.
1. Accept imperfection
The first resolution caregivers will find helpful is to give themselves permission to fail at keeping a particular resolution. Imperfection is the norm in both everyday life and caregiving. The unexpected can easily occur, so caregivers need not feel upset when expectations fail to go as planned.
In fact, in a study that followed 200 participants, 77 percent of individuals stuck with their resolutions for only one week. The percentage declined, with only 43 percent sticking to resolutions three months out. Only 19 percent stuck with resolutions for two years.
A lack of willpower is cited as the most common reason that people do not commit to their New Year’s resolutions. Setting unrealistic goals is another contributor to the failure. People may try to make a major adjustment or attempt to make the change all at once.
2. Set attainable goals
Caregivers might attempt to make a drastic change to personal eating habits, choosing to consume healthier meals without excess sugars and fats. However, the likelihood is that the holiday meals on the day before were unhealthy. This type of a New Year’s resolution will probably fail.
Instead, caregivers can boost their chances of success with resolutions by setting smaller goals. When adopting healthier eating habits, for example, choose to take smaller steps over time rather than attempt to make grand leaps and bounds all at once. Remain strategic each step of the way.
3. Find personal time
Another New Year’s resolution that will uplift caregivers is finding time and space to be alone. While this is a monumental task in the busy life of a caregiver, it is nonetheless possible to achieve. The resolution can be accomplished by asking for and accepting help with caregiving duties.
Family members and neighbors can provide invaluable assistance at home, thereby giving the caregiver personal time. A sibling who lives in town may be able to sit with the care recipient on the weekends. Similarly, a neighbor might be willing to watch the senior for a few hours.
A valuable resource for caregivers is home care services. Home care agencies provide a dependable form of short-term, intermittent care known as respite care. Professional caregivers care for the senior for an afternoon or a week while the caregiver gets a much-needed break.
4. Spend time with loved ones
Conversely, a positive resolution suitable for a caregiver is spending time with family and friends. Although this may mean having less time and attention for the care recipient, it is acceptable. Remaining socially engaged with friends and family promotes emotional health and well-being.
5. Say no
Saying no to requests that would overwhelm a caregiver’s already full plate is another positive resolution to make on New Year’s. Declining requests prevents the caregiver from feeling the burden associated with accepting extra responsibilities for which she has limited time.
6. Be proactive about health
Maintaining personal physical health is equally important and should be included as one of the caregiver’s New Year’s resolutions. Caregivers should plan to schedule and follow through with physical exams and screenings at a physician’s office, as well as dental cleanings and eye exams.
Self-care also means monitoring personal energy levels. Caregivers might make the resolution to practice self-awareness to prevent burnout. Exhaustion, stress, and frustration can diminish the quality of care a caregiver provides to a senior. Prevent burnout by hiring occasional respite care.
Providing self-care may include going to the spa for a massage or getting aromatherapy. Meditation and daily exercise are excellent ways to stay physically and emotionally healthy. Attending caregiver support groups and contributing to online caregiver forums help the caregiver feel less alone.
7. Accept good advice
Caregivers perform their responsibilities better when they seek and accept advice from professionals, organizations, and fellow caregivers. Make it a resolution to seek advice from home care professionals, who can evaluate the home for fall risks and make recommendations for improved safety.
Accepting advice from elder care organizations is not a sign of weakness. Rather, the caregiver shows strength when accepting good advice from reputable outside sources. She may, in fact, learn new techniques that enable her to perform her responsibilities better and increase the senior’s comfort.
Being a productive and happy caregiver are realistic goals. Setting attainable New Year’s resolutions, like those above, can increase the joy in a caregiver’s everyday life and release the stress that comes with caregiving. Perfection is not the goal, but realistic expectations are.
Consider incorporating quality home care from Assisting Hands Home Care into one of your New Year’s resolutions. Our compassionate respite care services give family caregivers time to practice self-care activities and experience a well-deserved break. At the same time, seniors receive optimal care.
Home care duties performed by our professional respite caregivers include helping seniors with personal care activities, such as bathing, toileting, and dressing. We shop for groceries and prepare nutritious meals to ensure aging adults eat healthily and hydrate. Transportation to doctors’ offices is provided.
Our care services include medication reminders, fall-risk assessments, and companionship. Your elderly loved one is in good hands with our teams of insured and bonded caregivers. Our professionals are also trained in CPR and First-Aid and understand how to appropriately respond in an emergency.
Respite care is vital to a caregiver’s health. Benefits of respite care include a lower risk of depression, less stress, more sleep, and renewed energy. Avoid burnout in the New Year and maintain the quality of care you provide by choosing Assisting Hands Home Care in Burr Ridge, IL | Lyons, IL | Indian Head Park, IL | McCook, IL | Hodgkins, IL | Countryside, IL | Willow Springs, IL | Palisades, IL | La Grange Highlands, IL | Clarendon Hills, IL | Brookfield, IL | Western Springs, IL | Hinsdale, IL | Darien, IL | La Grange, IL | Downers Grove, IL | Oak Brook, IL | Willowbrook, IL. Call us at (630) 407-1932 today.
