As people continue to live longer lives, the strain placed on family caregivers of the elderly grows dangerously. Children of seniors are spending more of their own lives looking after Mom or Dad, and in many cases, it’s causing them to neglect their needs, health and other family responsibilities. This issue isn’t going to go away any time soon – life expectancies continue to rise along with the costs of health care – but solutions are emerging that will allow families to restore some balance and make sure that seniors are well cared for without necessitating suffering on the part of their family caregivers.
Are You Caring too Much?
Let’s face it: when it comes to your job, you probably know when it’s time to take a break and take care of yourself. But when your loved ones are concerned, everything else takes a back seat to their safety and care. It’s simply harder to say, “no,” when the person who helped to raise you needs help living a comfortable life.
The current generation of family caregivers is often referred to by the name “Sandwich Generation” because they are expected to provide assistance to their aging loved ones while simultaneously raising and caring for their own families. If you’re a member of this generation, you may feel overwhelmed by responsibility, and it’s likely that feelings of guilt have reared their heads from time to time. After all, you can’t possibly meet the needs of everyone you care about if you’re expected to care for everyone!
What’s the Solution?
People like you need to step back, take a breath and evaluate your values and your boundaries. If you’re neglecting the health of yourself and the members of your own family in order to preserve the well being of an elderly parent or other family member, changes are needed.
Maybe you’re just doing too much and you can take steps to lessen your work load. If this is the case, it’s good to have a talk with your loved one to determine what kind of care is actually necessary – it might be possible that you’ve taken over tasks that would be better off left alone. It’s also a great idea to speak with other family members to that the burden of care doesn’t rest solely on your shoulders. These discussions can be difficult to have, but they are absolutely necessary.
At the end of the day, if you haven’t taken good care of yourself, how can you expect to provide excellent care for your loved one?
Emerging Care Options
Thankfully, there are new options for in-home senior care available. The old model of nursing-home care is evolving into a new one that respects seniors’ desires to live independently at home, and a new generation of caregivers is being trained and entering the workforce today. Our company is a leader in this growing industry, and we’d love to help you find solutions that work for you, your loved ones and the entire family!
If you’d like to learn more about how to ease the care burden on you and your family, call Always Best Care today at 1(855) 470-CARE (2273) for a FREE consultation and be sure to visit our website. We’re here to help!
