The coronavirus pandemic has changed life for a lot of people, but especially for caregivers. If that is something you’re coping with right now, this might help.
If You Can’t Be with Your Senior This May Be More Difficult
It’s much more difficult to be a caregiver during normal times while your senior is far away. During a major pandemic, that is even more difficult. Remember to process how you’re feeling about that. If you don’t, you’re likely to dwell in your feelings longer than you should. Acknowledge how you’re feeling and let that pass so you can do what you can.
Do What You Can from Where You Are
There’s a lot that you can do from wherever you are. You may be able to contact your senior’s medical team, line up home care services for her, and even order groceries no matter where you are. Focus on what you can do instead of on what you can’t do. That’s going to help you to feel far more empowered.
Sometimes Just Reaching out Is Enough
Don’t forget how powerful a phone call can be, both for you and for your elderly family member. Your elderly family member will enjoy hearing from you and you may feel calmer hearing her voice and knowing for certain that she’s okay. Consider setting up a regular time to talk, so that you’ll both know what to expect and you’ll know what to look forward to.
Avoid Thinking about Worst-case Scenarios
If you’re getting stuck in worst-case scenarios, that’s going to be a difficult rabbit hole to escape. There’s a lot of bad news out there lately and no one is saying don’t be informed, but if you’re developing a lot of “what if” scenarios in your head, you may find yourself getting seriously carried away. Limit the bad news and keep your focus on the future.
Take Care of Yourself
Make sure that you’re doing everything that you can to take the best care possible of yourself. Self-care is always important, but it’s even more important now. You could very easily run yourself ragged and deplete yourself. Focusing on self-care is going to help you to be there for everyone in your live who relies on you.
There are a lot of different ways that you can make this a more positive experience for yourself and for your elderly family member. The lessons that you’re learning now will help you to be a better caregiver down the line.