How to Cope as a Parent When Caring for Elderly Loved Ones

Caring for elderly loved ones while being a parent is a lifestyle change that you may not have seen coming. Extra stress and pressure can begin to take its toll on your family and on the dynamics within your family. Learning how to cope and learning what you can(and cannot do) is important.

Handling Caregiver Stress

You are going to feel a new level of stress when you are caring for elderly loved ones. When you are splitting your time and energy, you will feel extra pressure and stress. It is important to understand how you can handle caregiver stress. This may involve you getting more active (or staying active). Or it may mean you start focusing on breathing exercises and meditation. Handling increased stress levels will help you cope with everything that parenting and caring can throw at you.

Reaching Out for Support

You should not be tackling the care of elderly loved ones all by yourself. This will take a physical and mental toll on your mind and body. It will leave you feeling overwhelmed, and it will impact how well you can care for those in your life. Experts and qualified care staff know how to take care of elderly patients. They understand what is involved when taking care of dementia patients and those with additional or complex needs. 

Taking Time for Yourself

How much time are you currently having for yourself (or to yourself)? Do you have any time to pursue your hobbies and interests? Or are you trying to burn the candle at both ends? You can often find that you are giving too much to people and not even looking after your basic needs. When this happens, you will find that problems start to quickly escalate and get out of hand. You do not need to take lots of time for yourself, and you do not need to feel guilty about taking a few minutes out here and there.

Communicate

Keeping your feelings, thoughts and emotions bottled up is no good. It is, therefore, essential that you focus on good communication at all times. Communicate with other family members. Reach out to trained professionals and other caregivers and communicate to ensure you get the support and guidance you need. If you are not communicating, you are not releasing pressure and stress that can inevitably build up when caring for elderly loved ones.

Establish Boundaries

There is only so much that you can do and that you should be doing. When you have a family to look after, as well as an elderly loved one, you must set boundaries. If you do not, you will find that you will be pushing yourself too much. You will be trying to realize unrealistic expectations. Without boundaries, you will not know when to stop or when to see help and support. Establishing boundaries will also help protect your own health and wellbeing. This is crucial if you are a default parent or if you are a parent to smaller children.