How Can You Develop Compassion for Yourself as a Caregiver?
It’s not unusual at all to see a caregiver have little to no self-compassion. It’s because the caregiver wants to do so much for their elderly family member and, while that’s admirable, it’s going to wear you out unless you do something about it.
Caregiver Upper Darby PA – How Can You Develop Compassion for Yourself as a Caregiver?
Examine How You Talk to Yourself
When you’re busy and constantly on the go, how you talk to or about yourself might not be something that you think about often, if at all. But how you talk to yourself has a direct impact on how compassionate you feel toward yourself. Start noticing how you talk to yourself and then contemplate whether you would talk to your best friend like that. Start treating yourself at least as well as you’d treat your best friend.
Keep a Journal Devoted to Self-compassion
It’s one thing to watch your thoughts and try to catch them as they run through your head; it’s another to put them down on paper. Keeping a journal is a powerful way to really see how you’re thinking and feeling. It also gives you a strong tool to use in order to reframe those thoughts and feelings. Start out by writing to yourself as if you were telling yourself what is going on in your life. You’ll start to notice patterns and feelings in what you’re writing and in what you’re opting to leave out as well.
Role-play as Your Aging Adult
Something else that can help you to become a little more compassionate toward yourself is to try some role-playing exercises. Specifically practicing with yourself in the role of your aging adult can help you to get a different perspective on yourself and on your caregiving situation. You may start to realize that you’re harder on yourself when your elderly family member is more demanding.
Evaluate What You Need as a Caregiver and Then Give That to Yourself
As you develop more self-compassion, you’re going to start to realize that you have needs that aren’t being met. Take a good look at what it is that you need and work out how you can start to meet those needs for yourself. You would do that for anyone that you love and you have to be able to do that for yourself, too.
Developing self-compassion is going to take time and effort on your part. It doesn’t happen overnight and you might find that you slip back into old patterns now and again. What’s important is that you’re trying and your making forward progress when you can.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Caregiver Services in Upper Darby PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
- How Home Health Providers Offer Education Amidst Physical Health Changes - March 5, 2024
- Spring Activities for Seniors - February 21, 2024
- How to Help an Older Loved One with Cataracts? - February 6, 2024