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The Why and How of Self-Care
This is my first blog as Caregiver Coach® Anne. I am so excited to be able to use social media to help me do what I’m passionate about – helping family caregivers learn the importance of taking care of themselves as well as they take care of others.
Are you caring for a loved one, family member or friend? Has your own health suffered because of the care you are providing?
Not sure if you are a family caregiver?
Read Toghers article You are a Family Caregiver If…..
The Why
People who care for others have a tendency to put the care they provide ahead of their own needs. This usually results in serious implications that often prevent them from providing the care they set out to provide. I have attended the memorial service of a husband who cared for his wife with dementia for years – neglecting his own health to the extent that it exacerbated his own health conditions - he preceded her in death. I have watched a dear friend go through multiple rounds of chemo after the stress of the loving care she gave her husband with Alzheimer's Disease manifested in a rare auto-immune disease. I have watched a daughter try to manage her father's transition into a secure care facility from her own hospital bed. I have been in my office while a caregiver cowered behind the door to hide from the person she cared for –to have even a moment’s reprieve from her role.
It’s easy to say that this won’t happen to you – but statistics support each of these stories. According to the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the stress of family caregiving for persons with dementia has been shown to impact a person’s immune system for up to three years after their caregiving ends thus increasing their chances of developing a chronic illness themselves.1
Still not convinced that your own care should come first? Consider the Oxygen Mask theory. Read Anne’s article on the Oxygen Mask theory.
The How
A family caregiver once told me that everyone in his life tells him to take care of himself – but nobody tells him how. Here are some ways you can take care of yourself.
- Don’t take it all on yourself
- Allow others to help
- Attend a family caregiver support group
- Hire someone to come into the home and supplement the care
- Enroll the person you care for in an adult day program
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle
- ~ Eat a well balanced diet
- ~ Exercise regularly
- ~ Maintain your spiritual practice
- ~ Maintain your friendships
- ~ See your health care professionals regularly
- Pay attention to your stress level
- ~ take breaks before you are feeling burnt out
- Make a commitment each day to do something good for yourself
For more ideas on self-care, click here for Toghers article 10 Special things to do for yourself
1. Source: Drs. Janice-Kiecolt Glaser and Ronald Glaser, “Chronic stress and age-related increases in the pro inflammatory cytokine IL-6.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 30, 2003.
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