Does Your Social Life Need a Boost?
Very often caregivers find themselves busy all the time and with no social life to speak of at all. That seems like it happens overnight, but it truly occurs over time and because of some specific actions on your part. Here are some things you can do that can help.
Meet Other Caregivers
Caregiver Upper Darby, PA: Does Your Social Life Need a Boost?
When you spend some time with other caregivers, you start to realize that they know exactly what you’re going through daily. Many of them have been caregivers for longer than you have, so they know the challenges you’re facing, and they know what worked for them. They have a level of understanding that you need to tap into. The best place to meet other caregivers is in support groups, and those can help you in so many ways.
Take Some Real Breaks
If you’re like most caregivers, you might take small breaks here and there or worse still, when you get sick and end up in bed for three days. It’s time to take some real breaks from caregiving. Taking an afternoon or two a week just for you is a good thing and can help you immensely. You’ll also find that you have time to meet up with friends and to reach out to other people in your life.
Practice Reaching out More
When you’ve been an isolated caregiver for a long time, you might have forgotten how to reach out to other people. That makes conversations feel awkward for you and you might even stop trying to have conversations at all. It can help to practice reaching out when you are among other people, even if it feels weird at first. Standing in line at the bank might be a perfect time to toss out a comment about the weather. It’s a small action, but it can help.
Strive for More Balance
One of the things you need as a caregiver is to have more balance in your life. Balance out all that you do for your senior with time to yourself and time with other people you care about. If you stop seeking that kind of balance, you’ll just naturally gravitate back toward isolating yourself and only interacting with your senior. That can get dangerous for you.
You really can have a social life as a caregiver. You might need to plan things out a little bit more than your friends do, but it’s entirely possible. It’s also necessary.
Excerpt: If your social life is nonexistent, you might need to try something different.
If you or an aging loved one are considering a Caregiver 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.
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