As a caregiver, maintaining health and well being is extremely important. Caregivers need to look after themselves to be able to cope with the additional responsibility. Recharging yourself regularly, empowers you to give more. Most caregivers often neglect their own well-being. This is mostly because they are wrought with feelings of guilt and dissatisfaction. Sometimes they may get overwhelmed by their obligations.
It is extremely important for caregivers to prioritize their physical, mental and emotional health.
Physical health
The basic foundation of physical health is sleep, eating nutritiously, prioritizing health needs and exercising. Energy levels are direct result of your physical wellbeing.
While it may not be viable all the time. Whenever possible, try to go to bed earlier. Or to combat accumulated sleep debt, sleep in or take a nap on weekends.
Ensure that your regular meals are packed with nutrition. You could also overlap mealtimes with socializing.
Meeting health needs include health screenings and treatments by attending scheduled appointments with medical and allied health professionals.
Physical exercise is also extremely important for caregivers. Join a group fitness classes, competitive sports or training sessions.
Exercise not only releases endorphins that make you feel good, the social stimulus is also known to help reduce stress. If you need a more flexible exercise routine you could just include walking or running in your daily activities.
Mental health
Guilt prevents a number of caregivers from seeking help. Caregiving can take a toll on family. You may want to take some time out to assess your own needs. Profession counselling, taking time off from other roles, reflecting or optimistic thinking, can help to calm your mind at the time of high stress.
While most Indians tend to shy away from counselling, it is okay to admit ‘I do have a very fast paced life, I do have a stressful job”. Sometimes you may just need a vent. As a caregiver, don’t ignore your wellbeing when things get overwhelming. Professional help can empower you to comprehend and handle stressful situations more efficiently.
While ‘Take a break’ may not always translate into time to yourself. But consider walking away for five minutes just to clear your head or just sit in your room with your door shut for a few minutes. Retreat to a “tranquil” location or remember to “breathe.”
Reflect alone or meditate. Know that there are a lot of people going through similar situations. A number of people are able to accept these challenges by telling themselves these are temporary challenges and “this too shall pass; we’ll get through it.”
Optimistic thinking involves seeing the opportunities and benefits of multiple role occupancy. Some of the benefits are role modelling positive behavior, recognizing the value of intergenerational relationships, affording a better lifestyle and contributing to your identity.
Wellbeing
Wellbeing can be maintained through leisure time spent in various activities. Effective routines involve setting small daily goals of just ten minutes. You could spend time watching television, reading, playing computer games, or chatting with your spouse. Or something more creative like sewing for pleasure, playing piano and painting. You could combine social leisure interests watching movies with family, going out for coffee with friends or perhaps joining a book club.
Some people prefer unwinding by pampering themselves. Hair appointments, facials, manicures, massages and foot soaks are also a great way to take some time off from your regular routine.
In India, the need of the hour is to develop systems of sharing, support and supervision of caregivers. This is because they are so caught up in their care-recipient, that they do not pay attention to their own needs.
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