Managing: Rest of a Caregiver

August 1, 2016 mhanlon4j 0

I was reading an email from our son’s swim coach. Both of our boys are swimmers. Our oldest was on the high school swim team for four years. Our youngest is on the club swim team. All of our kids love the water and are like fish in the water; even our special needs daughter would get such joy and delight when she was in the shower or in the pool. I think they get it from Mike; he is a swim coach and was on the swim team in his high school and college days.

The article was “Three Reasons to Give Swimmers a Rest” by Dr. David Geier. The article talked about the importance of rest for an athlete.  Because of the physical demands of daily training a swimmer’s body cannot withstand the same physical stresses day after day without rest. Daily practice can also take a toll emotionally. The emotional exhaustion can lead to burnout and thus quitting the sport. The doctor prescribed rest.

Boy, I can so relate to this in regards to care giving! Being a caregiver is emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting. It is important to take care of yourself while in the midst of the day to day care. These demands can and will bring burnout unless you take time for yourself.

Give yourself the rest you need so that you will be healthy enough to care for your loved one. Remember your health directly affects your emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being.

Why is being a caregiver so demanding? I think it is because you are in essence sustaining a life for multiple people not just yourself. It is enough to plan your day, get yourself ready, eat healthy meals, and get yourself where you need to go.

Now, you are required to do that for your loved one as well. Before, it may have taken you 20 minutes or 1 hour to get yourself ready in the morning. Tack on getting your loved one ready, bathed, dressed, bathroom needs, brushing teeth, combing hair, medications, medical treatments, etc. Your morning routine has extended to 2 hours or more in just getting ready. Now, add this to a daily task. Every day this is on your to-do list and we have only gotten through the morning part of the day.

The life of a caregiver is not a sprint. It is not a race to see who can get done the fastest, who can get through the most doctors’ appointments in a week, or who can draw up the most medications in a day. There is no competition between who can do the most therapies in an hour or who has the most specialists on their care team.

Care giving is a marathon. An endurance test that overtime will develop and mature you in your season of care-giving. You will become better prepared to handle the time commitment that is required for your loved one.  It is a time where patience, prudence, and inner peace are always in the fore front of your mind.

Patience – the enduring resolve that is needed while you are waiting to see the doctor or waiting for test results.

Prudence – the cautious foresight needed to make decisions; the best decision for your loved one and your family.

Peace – the inner peace, that stirring of your soul that says breathe, you got this, you can do this, and it will be ok.

From one seasoned traveler to another… give yourself time to rest. Allow yourself time to step back and breathe in the intricacies, simplicities, and delicacies of life. Life is more than the chronic illness, terminal disease, or disability. Life can still be enjoyed and fulfilled.

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