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Caregiver Care Overview
Welcome. Grab yourself a cup of herbal tea or a latte, put your feet up, and relax, because this is where you'll find everything you ever needed to know about your own self-care.
Find a Little Me Time
When you're taking care of aging parents and loved ones, it's easy to forget to care for yourself. You might even feel guilty; you have so little time and so much to do, it's hard to tend to your own needs. But if you don't, you're liable to get frustrated, burn out, fall ill, or at the least, fall into bed and not want to get back up. Not good for you, and certainly not good for those you care for.
Take Good Care of You
You know the physical and emotional benefits of exercise, but you may not know that caregivers tend to be in worse physical health than non-caregivers are, with a higher rate of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. They also have more stress and are often dealing with an onslaught of tough emotions. This is no time to neglect your own care. Take a yoga class or walk the dog—anything to get you out and get you moving. Try to get some type of exercise every day.
Eat nutritious foods as much as possible. Get good sleep—at least seven hours. And don't skip your own medical appointments, even if it seems you already spend too much time at the doctor's office.
Give Yourself a Break
Be sure to look into respite care such as adult daycare centers and temporary live-in care to give yourself necessary breaks. You'll hear it again and again from us: Respite is an order.
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