The Top 10 List

Hello to my Fellow Caregivers and Readers!

My day today was spent searching the internet, looking for good sites for caregivers, researching particular topics to discuss in future posts, doing an incredible amount of reading, and printing off so many articles that I thought perhaps my printer might catch fire (just kidding on that one).  So, my head is full of information and my eyes are a bit tired from all the reading, but I hope that I found things today which will benefit all of us down the road.

Part of my research involved double-checking myself and my own experience and knowledge, just to be sure that when I’m passing along information to you, I’ll be on track.  Thus far, my experience is matching up very well with what the bigger organizations have to say.  Feeling good about that!

Today I decided to do a “short list” of self-care for caregivers, which is really a list that can be applied to almost everyone.  Most of the websites I visited today had approximately the same list, which also happened to match the list I had written from my own experience.  I plan to discuss each item in greater length in my future posts on self-care.

This seems to be your “Top 10” list of self-care for caregivers:

1. Eat balanced meals, take your vitamins, and drink 6-8 glasses of water a day.
2. Exercise regularly – some suggest daily exercise.
3. Try to get outdoors daily, or at least open some windows.
4. Get enough rest – this usually means 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
5. Keep up with your own healthcare needs – do not ignore your own health issues.
6. Take care of your emotional needs as well – do not ignore emotions which have the potential to become more serious, such as depression or anxiety.
7. Relax daily, feeding your spirit – pray, meditate, journal, anything that de-stresses (but avoid alcohol and drugs as de-stressors).
8. Stay social, try not to isolate yourself – find a support group or talk with close friends/family.
9. Laugh more often – find the humor in even the small things; reminisce about the happy times.
10. Ask for help – from family, friends, church members, neighbors, senior centers, home care aides.

And that, my readers, is your basic list for caregiver health and self-care.  I cannot give a 100% guarantee that following this list will prevent caregiver burnout in every case, but I can say that it will go a long way in keeping you a healthy and happy caregiver!

Make it a great day – and try to choose at least one item from the list that you will begin to put into practice today!