From medication administration and assisting the elderly residents with the activities of daily living to planning their weekly activities – caregivers have a lot on their minds. With so much going on, it can be difficult for caregivers to find time for themselves. Carrying pressure related to personal life also adds to the stress. If you are a caregiver and are looking for recommendations to practice self-care and avoid depression, here’s a useful read:
- Relax and recharge: Make a list of activities you enjoy doing and incorporate them into your weekly routine. Hobbies be it gardening, drawing, or painting help you practice mindfulness. Doing things that you like also takes your mind away from negative and stressful thoughts.
- Find time for exercise: You don’t have to spend hours at the gym. You can start going for regular walks, cycling or swimming. All these activities will keep you physically active and increase your fitness level. It will also help you relax and feel good. When you exercise, your body produces endorphins – these are chemicals in the brain that are natural painkillers and mood elevators.
- Seek support – When you are feeling low, seek help from other caregivers. Don’t shy away from talking about your feelings. Accept offers of help from family and friends.
- Cut down on your caffeine intake: Too much caffeine can cause sleeplessness and anxiety – both can take a toll on your emotional health.
- Keep a journal: When you have too many things going on in your mind, try decluttering it. Writing down your thoughts makes you look at the things that are troubling you from a new perspective – as a result it makes you calmer and less jittery.
- Spend quality time with family and friends: There’s no better way of relieving stress than spending time face-to-face with people who love you and care about you.
- Deep breathing: Deep breaths help you relax and stay calm. Slow and deep breathing techniques also increase the strength of your lungs.
- Healthy diet: Follow a good diet plan everyday. Eat several small meals per day. Include vegetables, fresh fruits, lean meat and nuts in your daily meals. Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water everyday.
- Check whether flexibility at work is feasible or not: Managing work commitments and household chores can become difficult at times. In such situations, sit with your team and see if they can shift your working hours for a couple of days.
- Leverage the power of technology: As a caregiver, you want to spend most of your time caring for the residents. However, manual tasks like reviewing MAR sheets and updating medical records can take up your time and not let you focus on your primary job as a caregiver – that is helping the residents live their lives to the fullest. Many care homes in the UK are shifting to electronic MAR sheets ( eMAR ) to streamline their medication administration process so that their staff spends more time caring for the residents and less time doing paperwork. If you are still using MAR sheets at your care home, have a word with your care home manager and explain to him the benefits of eMAR in the healthcare
