The holiday season is an important time to recognize and appreciate the millions of people who selflessly care for loved ones. Caregivers provide vital support — assisting with personal care, managing household tasks, offering companionship, advocating for their family member’s needs, administering medications, and coordinating appointments and transportation. Their dedication often continues quietly behind the scenes, even as the pace of the holidays picks up, making their commitment all the more meaningful.
For most in that role, there’s little time for “me” time. This can lead to stress, irritability, loneliness and depression, insomnia and general overwhelm. At NSAJC, we meet and communicate with caregivers on a regular basis, and often encourage them to practice self-care to prevent them from becoming overwhelmed and ignoring their own mental and physical health.
Here we detail some of the self-care tips we share with caregivers and their families.
Ask for Help
“I’m fine” is a common response we receive from caregivers when we ask how things are going. If you’re a caregiver and a family member or friend asks you how you are, be honest if you need help. Be prepared with a mental list of ways people can help you, whether that’s picking up things at the grocery store, having someone help you fill out paperwork, cleaning up around the house or simply taking you out for a cup of coffee. As a caregiver, it’s important that you know you aren’t alone… the people in your life want to help you care for YOU.
Recharge Your Battery
Spend time each week doing something that isn’t caregiving, even if it’s just for a few hours. Binge your favorite TV show. Read a book you’ve been dying to get your hands on. Pick up a new hobby. Take a walk. Recharge your battery with whatever makes you happy.
Get Adequate Sleep
Sleep is crucial for everyone’s health, but it’s especially important for caregivers. We recommend aiming for seven to nine hours every night to allow your body time to decompress and recover from a day spent caring for another person. Prioritizing sleep will help alleviate anxiety, depression and overwhelm, all of which can come hand-in-hand with caregiving.
Exercise
Another way to ease anxiety and boost endorphins is to exercise. Find a form of exercise that you like and try to incorporate it into your daily or weekly routine. You don’t have to go to the gym nor leave the house. Activities like walking, gardening, yoga or dancing are all things you can do from the comfort of or nearby your home.
Be Kind to Yourself
We aren’t going to sugar coat it… caregiving is hard! You don’t have to pretend to be joyful all of the time. Frustration and sadness are all normal feelings that you should not feel guilty about having. When you start to feel guilt or anger creep in, jot down those feelings in a journal and let them pour out of your body rather than drag you down. Remember that what you’re doing is selfless and admirable, and that you deserve to be nothing but patient and kind with yourself.
Find a Therapist
An unbiased ear that’s in your corner is extremely helpful for caregivers. It’s very often that we recommend to caregivers of our patients that they schedule weekly or monthly appointments with our behavioral health specialists to provide them space to air out frustration, discuss their stress and anxiety, and find tools that work for them.
