Celebrity hottie Rob Lowe cared for his mother with the help of his brothers and wrote about the demanding and rewarding time in a series of articles in late 2018, helping the 40 million or so caregivers realize that they are not in this alone. That’s a crazy high number, when you think about it. Yet, the bizarre thing is when you are doing the all-encompassing caregiving, you do feel like you are in a silo.
Caregiving can somehow become a consuming responsibility, even if you have others to split the duties with. Sometimes the sharing of responsibilities isn’t even or consistent, family drama is percolating, and financial strain is pressing. That’s why communicating with your team and checking in to see how everyone is holding up and how they are feeling about it all is crucial. Some caregivers are more sensitive or negative than others, but everyone deserves an opportunity to get their rough feelings off their chest. This may clear the way to remember why you are all doing the caregiving in the first place—because you love your mom, dad, grandma, aunt, uncle…
But you can’t forget about loving yourself, too. Otherwise, the stress will continue to mount and will seem unbearable some days. Therefore, let others help when they offer, just set specific boundaries in writing and visible in multiple locations, if you must. And if you are in this all alone, then look into trustworthy, reliable alternatives like grannynannies.com, to help fill in the time gaps that you need for yourself to exercise, pay attention to your job, or spend time with your family and friends.
Read on about Rob Lowe’s partnership with EMD Serono and EmbracingCarers.com, and find information regarding everything you’re experiencing as a caregiver Or turn to the smarty pants at Harvard to learn more about self-care for the caregiver https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/self-care-for-the-caregiver-2018101715003