March 12, 2020 by
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed in your role as caregiver, take heart; you’re in good company. Providing companion care services at home for aging parents is probably one of the most complex roles we can hold: highly gratifying on the one hand, while simultaneously frustrating and ever-evolving, frequently leading to feelings of doubt about whether we are up to the challenge and providing the most beneficial care.
Common Feelings Faced When Providing Companion Care
Caring for a senior loved one can often feel like an emotional rollercoaster. One day you’re having a lovely time laughing and reminiscing together, the next you’re struggling just to get your loved one to eat a meal. If this rings true for you, you’re not alone. It is important to remember that I’d common for family caregivers experience a wide range of feelings, including:
- Guilt: You may feel like you’re not doing as much as you should to assist your parent, that you are selfish for wanting time away to yourself, or that you’re inadequate to provide the help your senior loved one needs.
- Helplessness: There are several circumstances when you simply can’t solve the issues your senior loved one is going through.
- Anger or frustration: This might be directed at yourself, other members of the family who seem as if they’re not doing their fair share, and even at your older loved one for causing you to be in this situation.
- Resentment: Particularly typical when caring for an individual who hurt or betrayed you in the past, it’s easy for those feelings to resurface when that individual is now in your care.
- Hopelessness: When a loved one faces a challenging diagnosis, for example, a chronic or terminal condition, feelings of despair can settle in that may result in despondency or depression.
Managing Complex Feelings as a Family Caregiver
Acknowledging the complex emotions you experience as a family caregiver, and accepting that they are perfectly normal, is a good place to start. It’s also critical to find ways to work through these feelings and find healthy coping mechanisms to ensure they don’t lead to burnout. The following tips can also help:
- Share your feelings. Find a dependable friend, family member, or professional counselor to vent to, an individual who can provide an alternative perspective and help you to adjust your thinking to a more positive slant.
- Think about the advice you would offer a good friend. Sometimes, stepping out of your situation and picturing how you’d react to somebody else going through these feelings will offer invaluable insight. Provide the same encouragement you would offer to another to yourself.
- Find a companion care partner. Using the services of a professional companion caregiver provider, like At Home Independent Living, allows you to achieve a healthy life balance – something that is paramount to every family caregiver.
Let Our Companion Caregivers Help
The great part about caring for a loved one is that you do not have to go it alone. At Home Independent Living’s team of companion caregivers is here to help you every step of the way. Serving Syracuse, Clay, Camillus, and nearby areas, we can provide compassionate care for your loved one, giving you time to take a break and reset whenever you need. Contact us today at (315) 579-HOME (4663) and let us walk alongside you with the top quality, personalized companion care services your senior loved one deserves. We’re always available to answer any questions you have, to provide beneficial resources specific to the challenges you’re facing, and to provide a complimentary in-home consultation to share how we can help.
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