Four Tips for Getting Over Your Grief as a Caregiver
As your aging adult nears the end of her life, grief is something that you’re going to be facing sooner rather than later. If you can put together a toolkit to help you manage your grief, that’s going to be a huge benefit for you.
Deal with Your Feelings
The biggest part of managing grief has to do with your emotions around your impending loss. You might be angry that your senior is nearing the end of her life or you might just be overwhelmed by sadness. If she’s suffered for a long time, you might feel a little glad that she’s no longer in pain, which can leave you feeling guilty. It’s sometimes difficult to sit down and just know what you’re feeling. Journaling can help because it allows you to sift through what you’re feeling.
Deal with the Physical Impact
Most people are shocked to realize that grief has a physical component in addition to the emotional component. Stress and painful emotions can often lead to headaches, muscle tension, and gastrointestinal difficulties. You might also have trouble sleeping or eating. All of these issues and more can make dealing with your emotional issues even more complicated.
Let Other People Take Care of You for a Bit
As a caregiver, it’s difficult to let go and to let other people take over the caregiving for a little while. Hospice elder care providers can help you to find the resources that you need in order to sort through how you’re feeling. They can also allow you to take more of a step back from daily caregiving duties so that you’re in a better position to pay attention to how you want to manage your grief.
Remember it’s Okay to Have Fun
When your senior is nearing the end of her life, you might feel as if you can’t have fun at all. While this is a sad time, that doesn’t mean that you have to be sad every moment. You’re a complex human being and that means that you can experience a wide array of feelings and emotions that don’t detract from each other.
Grief can be cyclical, so don’t be surprised if you feel as if you keep returning to the grief that you were certain you’d dealt with already. You’re dealing with new aspects of the grief each time, often at a deeper level. If you’re still having issues, talking with a therapist can help you to anticipate those cycles as they return.
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