If you provide care for your elderly parents on a regular basis, you may be feeling both mentally and physically drained. Although no one likes to think of their parents as a burden, the truth is that looking after them can take a lot out of you.
Whether you look after your senior parents full-time or you are trying to juggle work commitments with their care, it is vital that you take some time to look after yourself.
Read on to discover four self-care strategies for adult children of senior parents, which will help ensure that you are able to care for them in the best possible way.
1. Build A Strong Network
If you are coping with the care of your senior parents completely on your own, then you may already be heading for burnout. Even if you are their primary caregiver, you still need other people to support you and help to care for your parents.
Therefore, if possible, enlist the help of other family members and friends so that there is less pressure on you to do everything that needs doing on a daily basis. If this is not an option, look to local charitable organizations for advice and support.
2. Learn To Say No
Although this can be very difficult to do for some people, you need to be able to say no once in a while. For example, if you are always the one in your family who rushes around to help your aging parents whenever they have a problem or need help, then now is the time to allow others to help carry the burden.
Don’t be ashamed to say that you need a break or to admit that you are struggling to manage on your own.
3. Schedule Some Me Time
How often do you set time aside for yourself? Not for work, family commitments, or caring for your parents, but just for yourself?
If the answer is not very often, then you are long overdue a bit of me time. One of the most important self-care strategies, it doesn’t matter if it is one day a week, one afternoon, or even one hour, as long as you consistently set time aside for yourself.
Make sure that you spend your me time wisely and indulge in relaxing and stress-busting activities such as meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, or even just a leisurely stroll around the local park.
4. Consider Long-Term Care
If you are increasingly struggling to care for your senior parents or you don’t think you can give them the help and support they need, then it may be time to think about placing them in a long-term care facility such as this Signature care home in Banstead.
Although this may not feel like a route you want to consider, you may be surprised at just how life-affirming luxury care homes can be, providing company and a whole host of fun daily activities and first-class facilities.
Alternatively, if you just need a break for a short period of time, then respite care is a great choice as this enables you to take a breather for a few weeks without having to commit to long-term care.
