When You’re New to Caregiving, It’s Easy to Feel Overwhelmed

Being new at something, especially a job, can feel a bit overwhelming. As a new family caregiver, perhaps looking after an aging parent or grandparent, you may have no clue what this is all going to look like in a few weeks or months.

Home Health Care in Shelter Island NY: Caregiving Tips

In the beginning, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. You might not have ever planned on this, but when that family member was suddenly hospitalized and you were grateful they survived whatever emergency landed them there, you knew it was your time to step up.

You couldn’t turn away.

Maybe you live in the same town or even a couple of towns over. It’s not a long drive for you to stop by and visit with them, support them, and even be there for them. You might have taken a week or two off from work, using all your available vacation and sick time to go and stay with your senior for a couple of weeks.

Then, you had to get your life back and you had to return to your normal routine. Even after those first couple of weeks you were still considered new to caregiving. During the first days, you might not have any clue what to do.

Your first thought is ensuring this person’s safety. As a result, maybe you discouraged certain activities like going to the park or taking a stroll down the hall. Maybe this family member suffered a heart attack and they were trying to walk up and downstairs, grasping onto the handrail as they do so.

You asked them, “What are you doing?” You assumed this was completely nuts, that they were risking another heart attack. You may have thought they were being stubborn and obstinate, just doing something for the sake of any type of exercise.

What you may fail to realize is their doctor could have recommended exercise as a way to strengthen the heart muscles again. If you discourage that, you could be actually increasing the risk of another serious health issue.

Find support.

There are support groups with other family caregivers you can lean on to talk to, vent to, ask questions, and gain insights.

Another more powerful support, though, comes in the form of home care. You can still be a caregiver to this family member, but when you rely on an experienced home care agency to support this senior, too, you will learn a lot, deal with a lot less stress, and likely see more positive results.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring Home Health Care in Shelter Island, NY, call the caring staff at Artful Home Care today at 631-685-5001.