Whew, another stressful week in caregiving! For those of you who are also taking care of elderly or disabled friends or relatives, recognise that part of your stress is because of our culture, from assumptions that women will provide needed care to paychecks that are nonexistent or low for such vitally important work. But there are lots of online resources with suggestions for coping with stress. Here are some from the Mayo Clinic. It’s a copyrighted post, so to see all of them you’ll have to click on this link!:
- Focus on what you can do. At times, you might feel like you're not doing enough. But no one is a perfect caregiver. Believe that you're doing the best you can.
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- Get connected. Learn about caregiving resources in your area. There might be classes you can take. You might find caregiving services such as rides, meal delivery or house cleaning.
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- Seek social support. Stay connected to family and friends who support you.
So thank you, my support group! We caregivers couldn’t do it without you.
As always, WOW is a group effort. Many thanks to Angmar, officebss, and mettle fatigue for links and discussion behind the scenes this week!