Family caregiver stress is inescapable, and in reality, not necessarily always a bad thing. Basically, as they say, “A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.” Yet especially for family caregivers, the level of stress can rapidly escalate and become overwhelming, and if not handled effectively, result in serious health concerns.
Try these tips to reduce stress and achieve a healthier and more relaxed lifestyle – for both yourself and your loved ones:
- Modify your self-talk. During the course of your day, you may find yourself having thoughts like, “I cannot do this!” or “Everything is going wrong!” Pause for a moment when negative thinking begins to invade your mind, and say to yourself instead, “I can handle this, one step at a time,” or, “Support is available to me whenever I need it.”
- Have a break. Reduce stress with any or all of these strategies:
- Practice deep breathing (inhale while counting to 4; hold while counting to 4; exhale while counting to 4; hold for a count of 4; repeat as needed)
- Take a walk, or participate in another type of physical activity
- Pray or meditate
- Listen to calming music
- Write in a journal
- Call a friend
- Try a stress-busting activity. There are many different pleasant activities to distract your attention away from whatever was leading to stress and onto something more positive, such as creating art, reading a book, playing with kids or pets, gardening, or a do-it-yourself project – even as little as 10 or 15 minutes spent on the activity can improve your outlook.
There are also apps specifically created with family caregivers in mind to help decrease stress and restore calm. You can find several that are especially helpful here from DailyCaring.
Family caregiver stress is especially common for those who think they have no support system and are required to manage everything independently. Thankfully, we have a solution! Call CareFor, the experts in home care in Lakeway, TX and the surrounding area, for a free in-home assessment to discover how we can partner with you in your caregiving obligations, allowing you the necessary time away to destress, through services including:
- Planning and preparing nutritious meals
- Assistance with personal care and hygiene
- Taking care of housekeeping chores and laundry
- Running errands, such as grocery shopping and picking up prescriptions
- Transportation to healthcare appointments and enjoyable outings
- Companionship to make each day more enjoyable with engaging conversations, games, puzzles, hobbies, etc.
- Medication reminders
- And so much more
Contact us at (512) 338-4533 and find out how a partner in care can make a world of difference in reducing stress and restoring a healthy life balance for family caregivers.