Four Things to Think about When You’re Avoiding Respite

It’s much easier for some caregivers to avoid respite than it is to take that time. The reasons for that aren’t necessarily valid, but they might feel incredibly valid to you at the time. If you’ve been avoiding respite time, it helps to really examine your beliefs around taking time away and caring for yourself as well as your senior.

Senior Care Columbia TN – Four Things to Think about When You’re Avoiding Respite

Your Senior Needs a Change, Too

If you’re not paying attention to your own needs, think some more about your senior’s needs. She sometimes needs different company, too. Although you’re there for her unconditionally, having a change of scenery, including people, is something that she would probably enjoy, too. And it would give you both something new to talk about later.

How Many of You Do You Have?

If you’re not taking respite, are you at least accepting help from others? Maybe not so much. There’s only one of you, most likely, unless other family members are helping out quite a bit. It’s likely that you feel overwhelmed and that you’re in need of a lot more help. Respite assistance can do that for you. But you have to be willing to take that risk and see what assistance can really do.

Do You Remember Your Last Break?

When did you last take any time away? Odds are that you’re a little fuzzy on those details, unless the experience was incredibly memorable and imprinted itself on your brain. It’s probably been a while and if you were worried the entire time you might feel as if you can’t step away now because there’s no way that the result would be anything but disastrous. But you need to take breaks.

Are You Keeping Track of Your Health?

Taking a break is vital for your emotional well-being, but it can be equally important for your physical well-being. What is your own health like? If you’ve got health conditions you’re ignoring, you might find that you’re endangering your position as a caregiver by ignoring them. Taking the best care you can of yourself ensures that you can keep being a caregiver for as long as you need to.

Bringing in senior care providers can be a scary proposition. But what’s even scarier is never taking any respite time for yourself. You can’t afford to do that as a caregiver. Your senior and you will benefit more from you taking time away than you might ever believe.