What Does it Take to Get Serious about Your Self-care?
Waffling around with self-care is not unusual for caregivers. If you’re serious about being a caregiver, you need to be serious about self-care.
Decide That it’s Time to Focus on You
Caregiver Philadelphia, PA:What Does it Take to Get Serious about Your Self-care?
Any time you’re making a change, especially a big one, it helps to consciously decide that this is what you want to do. That might sound simplistic, especially if you’ve been telling yourself that you need to get started taking better care of yourself. But it’s not really that easy. You can say that kind of stuff to yourself all the time and still never make any headway. Sit down and really commit to taking care of you.
Dig Deep and Figure out What You Need
The first problem you might run into is that you want to take better care of yourself, but you have no clue what you need in order to make that happen. Start with the basics and then dig a little deeper. The basics that you need for self-care as a caregiver are an exercise plan, decent sleep, and a solid diet. You might also need time with friends, time to read, or anything else. Be honest with yourself about what you need and you’re going to be much more likely to hit those goals.
Do One Small Thing Every Day
Once you know what you need, it’s time to make some progress. It’s overwhelming if you look at a list of what you need and try to get it all done at the same time. It’s tough to overhaul your entire way of eating, your sleep habits, and throw in a brand-new exercise plan, too. Start small and get a handle on one change at a time. As you make progress, you can add new changes.
Maintain the Ground You Gain
A big mistake you want to avoid is losing ground once you’ve made progress toward your goal. No matter how small the accomplishment, you’ve made forward progress, so hang onto it. If you run into an aspect of your self-care plan that shows you something else you need, add that to your list, but don’t throw away everything you’ve already done.
Self-care is crucial for you as a caregiver. It’s tough to think about taking care of yourself at first, because you’re supposed to be taking care of someone else. But how well can you do that if you’re unable to keep going? Do what you can to take care of you.
If you or an aging loved one are considering a Caregiver in Philadelphia, 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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