It is difficult to serve as a caregiver to a senior family member requiring help.

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed in your role as caregiver, take heart; you are in good company. Providing homecare for a loved one is probably one of the more complex roles we can hold: extremely rewarding on the one hand, while simultaneously discouraging and ever-evolving, frequently resulting in feelings of doubt about whether we’re up to the challenge and providing the most beneficial care.

It is why a lot of family caregivers battle against some or all of these types of emotions when serving as a caregiver:

• Guilt: You might feel as if you are not doing as much as you should in order to help your senior loved one, that you are selfish for seeking time away to yourself, or that you’re inadequate to provide the assistance your parent needs.
• Helplessness: There are circumstances when you simply cannot solve the issues your senior loved one is encountering.
• Anger or frustration: This can be directed at yourself, other members of the family who seem as if they’re not doing their fair share, or even at your older parent for causing you to be in this situation.
• Resentment: Especially typical when taking care of a person who hurt or betrayed you in the past, it’s easy for those feelings to resurface when that person is now in your care.
• Hopelessness: When a loved one faces a challenging diagnosis for example, a chronic or terminal condition, feelings of despair can settle in, that could result in despondency or depression.

Acknowledging these feelings, and accepting that they’re completely normal, is an excellent place to begin. These suggestions can also help:

• Share how you feel. Find a trusted friend, family member, or professional counselor to vent to, someone who can provide an alternative perspective and help you to shift your thinking to a much more positive slant.
• Think about the advice you would offer a friend. Sometimes, stepping out of your situation and picturing how you would respond to another individual dealing with these feelings can provide invaluable insight. Provide the same encouragement you’d provide to another to yourself.
• Find a care partner. Using the services of a knowledgeable care provider, like Relevar Home Care, enables you to achieve a healthy life balance – an element that is paramount to every caregiver.

Contact our trained, experienced, and compassionate care team by calling 888-493-3513 and let us walk alongside you with the high quality, individualized care services your loved one deserves – making it possible to take much-needed time for self-care. We are always available to answer any questions you have, to provide beneficial resources specific to the challenges you’re facing, and also to provide a complimentary in-home consultation to share how we can help with senior home care in Macomb County and the surrounding area.