As you may have read in my blog posts and on my website pages, I feel that family caregivers are LoveGivers. They are exceptional, selfless people who put the welfare of their loved ones above themselves. This means they are more concerned with their charge’s health than they are about their own. Unfortunately, this often causes its own set of problems.
When you are a family caregiver, there is so much to do and, yet, so little time to complete everything that needs to be done. So, you fill every waking moment of your day to the max and tell yourself that you will feel less exhausted later, you will eat dinner later, you will exercise later, you will feel less stressful later, and you will make time for prayer and reading your Bible . . . later. This becomes your mantra. However, later never materializes and then, before you know it, a new day has dawned and you begin your mantra all over again.
The Caregiver and Exhaustion
Because you fill every moment of every day with tasks, you are beset with overwhelming exhaustion. Having been in this situation before, I know that sometimes you are not even aware of how tired you are . . . until you stop. You climb into your bed and lay your weary limbs down, only to find that your entire body is sore and heavy. Yes, heavy. It can feel like you are weighted down in the bed.
The Caregiver and Eating Habits
When you do make time to eat, you may pick at your food or overindulge. If this is happening, it likely is due to your emotions and exhaustion. Your emotions and exhaustion can play havoc with your eating habits. It may be that you are literally too tired to eat. Or, you may overeat as a way to soothe your emotions, i.e. emotional eating. Both undereating and overeating are issues that will impact all other areas of your life.
The Caregiver and Lack of Exercise
Exercise? What’s that? This might be your response if someone asks if you have been doing anything to keep your body in shape and healthy. After all, if you don’t have time to eat, you certainly don’t have time to exercise, right? The problem is that regular exercise helps in other ways, besides maintaining a healthy body. For instance, exercise helps with mental agility. It helps to clear your brain so it functions better.
The Caregiver and Extreme Stress
As you go about your caregiving responsibilities, at times you will likely experience extreme stress. During a loved one’s extended illness, it may be necessary to perform certain tasks that you are unfamiliar with and which may cause anxiety. You may worry about the timing of medications, pain management, doctor’s appointments, cleanliness of wound or surgical sites, worsening condition, relapses, and even whether you should leave to buy groceries and run important errands. The pile of items you must keep track of and remember causes stress, and this does not even account for all the other aspects of caregiving.
The Caregiver and Time With the Lord
Just as you tell yourself that everything else in your own life can wait until later, you do the same when it comes to time with the Lord. It can wait until later. You will find time later to sit down and pray. You will find time later to read your Bible. However, as you unintentionally put the Lord off, you may not realize that you are growing further and further from Him. You need to keep our Lord, the Great Physician, as close to you as possible. Caregiving is not for the faint of heart and knowing that the Lord is with you always can be so reassuring and soothing.
While you are trying to keep your loved one’s life together, comfortable, and as normal as possible, your own life is falling apart. It is imperative that you pull things together for yourself, not only for you, but so you can better serve your loved one. This is when family caregivers need help.
Keep looking up,
Melodee
