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What Can You Do When You're Wrapped up in Your Worries as a Family Caregiver?

Posted: 9/29/2017 9:14 AM by Interim HealthCare

Worrying is a natural part of your caregiving journey. But when it gets out of hand, you'll find that all you're accomplishing as a family caregiver is becoming an expert in worrying. It's time to break the loop.

Take a Step Back and Acknowledge What You're Feeling
When you're already in a fragile emotional state, it's easy to stick with that feeling. Worry is a large beast to slay and you can't do it all at once. Start out by taking a mental step back from what you're worried about and take the time to just acknowledge what it is that you're feeling. Work through exactly what makes up the basis of this worry so that you can figure out how to proceed.

Consciously Let Your Worries Go
Worrying is something that you've probably been doing so long that it's become an unconscious activity for you. So the next step is to consciously tell yourself that you're going to let this worry go. Every time the worry pops up, you need to repeat this message to yourself. At first, you might be surprised how often you're reminding yourself to let go of this particular worry.

Focus on What's Going on Right Now
Part of successfully letting go of your worries is easier if you can focus on what is actually going on. For example, if you're concerned as your loved one's caregiver that something awful is going to happen with her health, look at the situation objectively. Look at what is actually happening with your loved one's health right at this moment. Chances are that it's far from what you're worried will happen, even if she's not in the best health.

Keep up with Your Self-care Plan
Above all, you need to be paying attention to your self-care plan. If you don't have one, now is the time for you to put one into effect. Neglecting yourself is only going to keep you run down and susceptible to your worries.

This is a process that you'll need to stick with for longer than a day or two. Every little bit of progress that you make creates a difference in your life.

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