Senior Care in Lansing MI
If you're a family caregiver, chances are good that you haven't given yourself a break from caregiving that lasted much longer than a few hours. But a break of a day or longer can help you to come back to caregiving with a fresh perspective.
Why Should You Take a Few Days Away?
No matter how much you love being a caregiver to your elderly loved one, you definitely need time away to recharge. Even if you don't think that you need time away, chances are that having some time on your own will help to refresh you. If you're still not sure, remember that caregiving is a full-time job. Vacations and time off are a part of any job that you do, so it's important to give yourself the same benefit as a caregiver.
Prepare Your Loved One
It's not a good idea to leave without letting your loved one know what's going on unless you have an emergency or the situation otherwise can't be avoided. Talk to your loved one about your impending break and let her know your plans. Remind your loved one when you'll be going and how long you'll be gone. It's also a good idea to ask her to help you make plans for her while you're gone.
Line up Help with Other Tasks
Talk to other family members about what they can do for your loved one while you're away. You may want to line up help with everything from errands to housekeeping tasks to companionship while you're gone. Try to distribute the tasks among several different people so that no one person is overwhelmed with the tasks they're taking on to help you and your loved one.
Get Professional Assistance, Too
You may also want to hire senior care providers on a more full-time basis to help with your loved one's care. That way you can be sure that your loved one is in experienced hands while you're away. Your loved one's senior care providers can serve as the primary caregivers while you're away and other family members can fill in where they can.
Try taking a day or two break and see how it goes. As you continue your journey as a caregiver, you may find the need to eventually take longer breaks.
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Lansing, MI, please contact the caring staff at Seniors Helping Seniors of Lansing. Call today: 517-332-9953.