Taking Care of Yourself
“He needs me night and day. There's no time to even get my hair cut. I'm exhausted and I can't take this much longer. I need help!”
It's a big task being a caregiver. The roles and responsibilities can be overwhelming, and they are even greater if you are caring for someone with dementia such as Alzheimer's Disease. Normally we're not adequately trained for this, but we think we can take it on single-handedly. Helping a dependent adult should not mean giving up your health or all of your free time. If you don't take care of yourself, both you and the care-receiver can suffer.
How full is your plate?
It's easy to disregard the caregiving responsibilities that build up, especially if you take them on gradually. Stop here and consider all that you have to do each week. Begin by writing down everything you do in a given week on a piece of paper. Try not to leave anything out. Consider your caregiving tasks, job responsibilities, family duties, and things you do for yourself.
What's on my plate
When you finish
- Put an X by what you do to take care of others
- Underline what you do to take care of yourself
Are you surprised at the number of responsibilities you are trying to juggle? Have you listed all of them? Handling a few stressful tasks at one time isn't impossible, but when they pile up, you can reach a breaking point.
