Being a family home caregiver makes one especially vulnerable to holiday stress. While most everyone experiences holiday stress to some extent, the dual demands of providing senior care and other family or work obligations, when combined with the added holiday preparations, can seem overwhelming.
In order to alleviate stress, a home caregiver should consider the following:
Take a Break
While taking a break may seem unmerited or even ridiculous given how much there is to do, a family home caregiver should consider doing something they enjoy, like watching a holiday movie (without feeling like they should be writing cards or making dinner while they do it!) Taking a break can actually help the home caregiver accomplish more by giving them renewed motivation and helping them avoid burnout.
Stay Active
Caregivers know that they should keep seniors active, even when it’s cold outside. In order to avoid icy sidewalks and frigid temperatures, senior caregivers can take seniors to an indoor venue like a botanical garden or conservatory. As a bonus, getting out and being active is good for the home caregiver too.
Eat Well
When stressed, it is easy to go for comfort food that is not nutritious. Yet making good food choices when we are stressed is extremely important for keeping up our immune system and helping us raise our serotonin levels, which has been show to help us relax. The citrus fruits that are readily available at this time of year are full of vitamin C and antioxidants which can also help reduce stress.
Get Help
When feeling stressed, senior caregivers should seek help. Whether it’s accepting offers from family, friends or neighbors or a hiring a professional home care provider, respite care of even a few hours can help give the caregiver the energy they need to continue caring for their loved one.
When a family caregiver is less stressed, that impacts how they are with everyone around them. By taking care of one’s self, a caregiver is better able to serve the senior under their care and better able to enjoy providing care for their senior loved one, and anyone else.
