By Michelle M.
The winter holiday season should be a time of love, laughter and family gatherings. For a family caregiver, the holidays often bring an increased sense of anxiety and stress. In addition to balancing a schedule of care, medical appointments and housekeeping tasks, there are now a myriad of added responsibilities and expectations.
Choosing between caring for your loved one and attending a family or social gathering can be heart wrenching. Attempting to create a perfect holiday season for your family can be exhausting. If you are like millions of others, you will work tirelessly to accomplish everything on your list, sacrificing your own enjoyment of the season in the process.
At Assisting Hands Home Care Livingston, we understand the challenges you are facing during the holiday season. We specialize in home care, because we recognize the importance of keeping your loved one at home for as long as possible. Our professional caregiving team would like to offer you a few holiday tips for taking care of yourself while managing the care of your loved one:
Cherish the Past: So many adults, family caregivers and non-caregivers alike, spend their adulthood striving to recreate every tradition of their own childhoods. While it is a good idea to cherish those memories, give yourself permission to continue selected traditions while creating new ones. This can be particularly hard for someone caring for an elderly parent, because there is often an emotional connection to holidays and a constant, painful fear that this might be the last.
Don’t Strive for Perfection: When you strive for perfection at the holidays, you are often setting yourself up for disappointment. Because family caregiving entails handling unexpected situations and needs, you must be mindful of your own limits as a human being. Be mindful also, that routine is often critical to your loved one, who relies on you for comfort and support.
Ask for Help: Whether you are part of a caregiving team of family and friends, the sole caretaker or simply the person who manages care providers, you will probably need to seek additional resources during the holiday season. If you are located in the New Jersey area, we are always here to assist with your loved one’s needs. You can contact us at anytime to discuss your specific situation and to find out more about how we can help make this a more joyous and relaxing holiday season.
