What Could Make the Last Days of Caregiving Easier for You?
As your time as a caregiver winds down, you may start to feel the weight of all that is happening. It’s emotionally exhausting when you know that your family member is nearing the end of her life. Anything that you can do to help yourself and others to have an easier time is something that you want to try.
Take Everything One Step at a Time
Life and caregiving get overwhelming when you’re trying to do too much at once. Especially at this stage of the caregiving experience, it’s important to take everything one small step at a time. Focus on what is happening at this moment and not what is coming. This helps you to spend the time that you have in a way that honors these moments and keeps your attention where it needs to be.
Reach out to People You Love
Other family members, friends, and other people who love your family member are going through this with you. Reach out to them and talk about how you’re feeling and how they’re feeling. You can all lean on each other to get through what is happening together. This can help you to feel less alone, especially when you’re making difficult decisions.
Keep Yourself Busy
Some people tend to do better in these types of situations when they’re able to focus on practical matters that need attention. If this describes you, then you might benefit from doing more than just sitting by your family member’s bedside during your waking hours. There may be arrangements that you can make or situations that you can handle.
But Not Too Busy
But if you’re keeping yourself too busy, you can easily wear yourself out and that’s not a situation you want to contribute to. Allow other people, especially hospice elder care providers, to take over tasks that are difficult or trying for you so that you can take the time that you need to rest or to spend with your family member. You don’t have to keep yourself running day and night.
Everyone grieves differently, so it’s important that you honor what you need during this time. You might feel as if you’re doing something “wrong” or that what you need is something that other people wouldn’t approve of at this time. Reach out to people who can help you with your feelings, especially when you’re feeling as if you need to conform to other people’s definitions of grieving.
CHAP Accredited