5 Great Ways to Keep Yourself Stressed Out
April 29, 2016
Elderly Care in Cranberry Township PA
Stress is a fact of life these days, but some stress is not necessary. Some stress we bring onto ourselves. Often we make our own caregiver stress worse than it has to be by doing things that we think
are helping.
Give Yourself No Downtime at All
When you spend all of your time running from one task to another, and then to another, you don’t let yourself breathe at all. It’s even worse in our “always connected” society because no matter what you’re doing, you’re still connected to email, to your text messages, and to your voice mail. In some respects, you need to have that information at your fingertips, but for the most part, you do need to have time to yourself.
Shove Your Emotions Aside
The less you deal with your emotions, the more stressed you’re likely to be. And as a family caregiver, you’ve probably got a lot of different emotions rolling around. As unpalatable as it can feel sometimes, you really do need to sort through your emotions, give yourself permission to feel them, and process them. Find a friend you can talk to or a therapist that helps you work through your feelings.
Avoid Exercise
The less you move your body, the more it will tell you that it wants to move. This can be in the form of aches and pains or it can take the form of emotional baggage. Make exercise a regular part of your daily routine. You already know what exercise can do for your elderly loved one, so don’t cut yourself off from the many benefits you could be experiencing.
Make Perfection Your Goal
Perfection is not attainable. The sooner you can accept that, the better. Sometimes good enough is good enough, especially when you’re talking about situations that won’t really matter tomorrow, or next week, or next year. Learn how to draw a line between the things that should be closer to perfect and the things that don’t have to be anywhere near perfect.
Analyze Everything. And then Analyze it Again
Overthinking and overanalyzing are some of the best ways to keep your brain mired in a morass of stress. Try putting your worries and your thoughts on paper so that you can get them out of your head. Use pro and con lists to help you make decisions without overanalyzing. Work with a therapist or counselor to help you learn when to stop analyzing a given situation.
Talk to your loved one’s elderly care providers about helping to reduce some of your overload when you’re feeling stressed. They can make sure your loved one is okay while you take care of yourself.