You might think that it's unusual for caregivers to procrastinate about asking for help, but it's actually really common. You can break yourself of the habit, though, which is good for you and for your aging adult.
Waiting to Ask for Help Is an Unnecessary Complication
The biggest problem with waiting to ask for help as a caregiver is that you're unnecessarily complicating your job as a caregiver. You might not fully understand how much help you do need, which can cause you to avoid asking. Or you might know that you need help, but you just aren't sure what exactly you need.
Define What You Need and When You Need It
The first step in getting rid of your procrastination problem is that you need to understand what you and your aging adult need in terms of help. What are you most worried about? If it's keeping your senior safe and well fed when you can't be there, that's the types of help you need to find. Other types of help might include keeping up with household tasks or helping your senior to get where she needs to go.
Keep Your Support Network Growing
Part of what makes getting help easier is having a larger support network from which to pull assistance. Your support network might be made up of other family members, friends, neighbors, and senior care providers. As you increase the size of your network, you have more options. The more options you have, the better.
Start out Small, Especially if You're Uncomfortable
When it's difficult to ask for help, you have to ease into it a little bit. Start out with small requests for assistance that aren't cumbersome for you or for the other person. As you both gain confidence in the process and how it all works for both of you, you can move up to bigger tasks and more assistance.
Express Your Gratitude, Even if Someone Can't Help
Even when someone can't help or won't help, that is still something to be grateful about. Expressing your gratitude openly and genuinely is the polite thing to do, but it is mostly for you. you might think it sounds odd, but when you know right away that someone's not going to be able to help, you can move on to the next option on your list, which might be hiring senior care providers. You're getting to solid solutions a lot faster and that's definitely something to be grateful about.
As you start to find asking for help easier, you can start to realize that you're procrastinating less and less often. When you're not as overwhelmed, it's much easier to get the help that you need.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Williamston, MI, please contact the caring staff at Seniors Helping Seniors of Lansing. Call today: 517-332-9953.