Carer Fatigue and Taking Care of Yourself While Caring for Others
Caregiving is increasingly common in an extended family setup. It is a term used to refer to one person taking on a caring role to support someone with disabilities in their family. Children often care for ageing parents, even when the children are adults with their own families. This can make life challenging, but love often compels us to take on too much with no regard for our well-being. However, as the saying goes, a broken vessel can hold no water. If you are a carer, you need to be aware that carer fatigue is a real thing, and you must ensure that you take care of yourself while caring for someone else.
Signs of Carer Fatigue
It is essential that you know the common signs of carer fatigue and take action if you feel that you are experiencing them. It is not unusual to always feel tired and get angry and irritated over small things. You may feel sad, get many headaches or find yourself reaching for the wine bottle more often. Juggling caring for someone with your responsibilities can also mean you do not get enough sleep, you may lose weight, or gain weight and generally feel worried and overwhelmed by life.
Get Help
One of the first things you can do is ask for help. As an NDIS provider on the Gold Coast, we are ideally placed to provide respite, giving you the chance to take time away to relax and recharge. We would recommend creating some regular in-home support and respite if you are fatigued. By calling in the professionals, you can shift some of the responsibility to our skilled disability support workers and begin to create a healthier balance for you as the carer. Never look at this as a selfish move, the person you are caring for is in safe hands, and our supported independent living services are provided by caring, warm individuals who will help expand the world of the person needing care.
It is NOT a Failure
We often work with family member carers who feel that they have failed because they cannot cope with everything that is going on in their life. This could not be further from the truth. Imagine going to work, finishing, and going to work again without ever going home or sleeping! It is so essential for carers to take care of themselves, and often the easiest way is to spread the workload, and our team love what they do! Your loved one is in safe hands, and if needs be, we can even use SIL homes, where the person needing care comes on a mini-holiday to a home set up expressly for extra care. This is important if the person you care for lives with you, as you need that break.
We can also take them out and about for social events, shopping trips and other community access activities to help them feel less isolated and widen their horizons. So, please do not suffer alone; reach out for help – we are there.