Taking Care Of The Caregiver

Taking Care Of The Caregiver

We all know a caregiver in our lives. This is our sister, our mother, our father, our brother, or other family member or friend that puts their life on the back burner to care for an ailing loved one. It may even be you. The point is that caregivers give so much of themselves to the person that they are caring for that they don’t often take care of themselves. In fact, 63 percent of caregivers report that they have poor eating habits, 72 percent of caregivers don’t visit the doctor as often as they should for themselves and are at an increased risk for signs of depression. Caregiving can be so stressful that it can take years off of their life. The time is now to offer a lift to the caregivers in your life.

Taking Care Of The Caregiver

Dinner Time

Since nutrition is often something that caregivers skip for themselves, treat them to a nutritious meal that they don’t have to cook. Cook dinner yourself or order something in. Take them out to dinner if you can find someone else to step into the caregiver role. You can even think about giving them a gift subscription to a healthy dinner service that sends all the ingredients and a recipe for a fresh and nutritious meal.

Give Them A Time Out

Now that you know the strain that this situation can cause, it can be a great time to give them some time to themselves. Take over for them, and push them to do something nice for themselves. This may mean just taking a bubble bath with music playing, going to sit at a coffee shop to enjoy a drink and a book, or anything that they enjoy doing that can be considered me time. Give them a certificate to your local spa or a gift card for their favorite store or restaurant that you make them use rather than put in a drawer to get dusty.

Handle Other Tasks

You may feel uncomfortable taking over the caregiver role to give your loved one a time out, so help them with other tasks. Clean the gutters. Scrub the stove. Organize a closet. Handle any of these tasks that they may be meaning to get to, but never get around to doing themselves.

It’s time to offer a lift to the spirits of our caregivers to help them feel that they need to start taking care of themselves again. These tips are a good starting point for what you can do for your loved one. You know them best, so think outside of the box for what you could do to make them stop neglecting themselves and start feeling good again.

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