Taking care of loved ones who suffer from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia can be very emotionally taxing. It’s not uncommon for caregivers to find themselves incredibly anxious as they try to navigate daily issues and complications, and as they watch their loved ones get progressively worse.
To make matters more complicated, it’s also common for caregivers to neglect their own care, as their personal problems seem small in comparison to the struggles their afflicted loved one is going through. But that’s a very dangerous mentality to adopt.
Why caregiver self-care is important
Anxiety, like other mental health problems, can do a lot more than just inconvenience you. It impairs cognitive function, harms your overall health, and affects your mood, making it harder for you to make calm decisions, think in the long term, and making it harder for you to stay calm while dealing with complex problems.
Furthermore, while in the short term you may feel good and heroic by staying quiet about anxiety and other burdens you may be facing as a caregiver, in the long term trying to ignore those emotions can lead to you resenting your caregiving duties and maybe even resenting the person you are caring for. That’s awful, and no one wants to find themselves in that situation. This is why, as a caregiver, it’s also your duty to take good enough care of yourself that you’ll be able to carry on your duties in the long term without tanking your health or growing resentful. Self-care isn’t a distraction from your main duties — it’s a part of it.
With that in mind, here’s what you can do to help specifically with your feelings of anxiety and overall worry.
1 - Get informed. Anxiety is often a reaction to uncertainty. And while it may feel uncomfortable to research about your loved one’s disease, it’s progression, and potential outlooks — having solid information on all that will help you stay calm as the disease develops. Remember to read not only news and scholarly articles, but first-person accounts as well.
2 - Plan ahead. Another way to reduce uncertainty is to make plans for how you’ll adapt your care as the conditions of your loved one change. This can help you feel in control of the situation as it develops.
3 - Connect with people. Talking with other patients and caregivers is a great way for you to relax and gain emotional support at the same time. It can be just what you need to calm down after a rough week.
4 - General health care. Plenty of bad habits can make the symptoms of anxiety worse, including eating poorly, not exercising, and generally not giving yourself enough downtime. Try to exercise at least thirty minutes a day, maintain a balanced diet, take long baths from time to time to relax.
5 - Relaxation techniques. Meditation and other forms of relaxation techniques can help tune down a lot of the symptoms of anxiety. One of the greatest benefits you get from meditation, for example, is the ability to step away from your current trains of thought and gain a sense of peace and perspective for a few minutes, which can be a wonderful gift for a stressed mind.
6 - Relaxing substances. Chocolate has mood regulating properties, warm tea does wonders for people’s stress, and natural remedies like CBD can be used to combat the symptoms of anxiety without the use of pharmaceuticals. The latter you can buy from sites like CBD51. Experiment with different solutions and find out what works for you – your future self will thank you.