Being a caregiver

Being a caregiver of a loved one

Being a caregiver for the family is no easy task. Being a caregiver of a loved one is hard and challenging at times. Furthermore, taking care of a family member who has a chronic or debilitating disease will take a toll. Again, a toll of physically and emotionally stress.

During this part of your life, at times it may seem overwhelming. Many will get the feeling that you’re just a robot moving through the day. thus, taking care of the day to day responsibilities being a caregiver for a loved one. again, many will feel as though they don’t remember what makes you happy and joyful. And some may even suppress happiness out of feelings of guilt. Bringing back laughter into one’s life . The goal, deal with the stress of being a caregiver in a better way. Laughter specifically strengthens your immune system and releases certain ‘feel good” endorphins.

Endorphins are hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system. They do have a number of physiological functions. They are peptides which activate the body’s opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect.

Loretta Schoen, caregiving advocate and author of the book, Surviving Medical Mayham, joined one of the Expert Q and A panels at the 234th Fearless Caregiver

Here are some tips to help you add more joy to your life as a caregiver.

Keep a journal of good times

A journal is a safe place to write down your innermost thoughts and ideas. Furthermore, it will often work as therapy for caregivers to write about the challenges of Being a caregiver. For example, the difficulties and darkest times you may feel. However, don’t focus on the bad moments. Remember, that is not the sum total of your entire life. Your life, even during those hard times, have big moments of joy in it. You just may have to try to hone into these moments of joy. Have a separate journal to write down the times. Again, write about funny memory of your loved one, a joyous event that happened in the world. Finally, try saying , an inspirational quote.

Write a joyful mantra to post on your computer or refrigerator to say each morning.

Mind over matter will encourage a positive as well as a joyous mood during those times when Being a caregiver makes you fell low spirited.

Celebrate being a caregiver

Find ways to celebrate life and friends. caregivers need to treat themselves to a “Off day”.This can be done by getting friends and family to help. For example, so you can have date night. Other examples, spa day or golfing. Try yourself to something. Finally, buy something for yourself like a new phone or some clothes.

Eat well and eat what you enjoy

first, as caretakers we usually to eat rushed. For example, less healthy foods as well as skipping meals altogether. You need to eat better. By eating the rainbow, a bounty of fruits and vegetables that are rainbow colored – green, yellow, orange and purpleought to give you essential nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants. Also, needed minerals.

Cultivate feels of personal gratitude

Caregiver burnout — Prevent caregiver burnout

Med-Q Pill Box with alarms tells is that new studies have shown that gratitude is associated with higher levels of happiness. Being a caregiver, you may feel hard-pressed to feel grateful. made worse during this time as you care for an incapacitated family member. Many will think, “Why did this happen to our family?” or “It’s so hard seeing my father this way.

In the midst of caretaking you have to purposely think happy thoughts. First, look for things, to counter those emotions. Hence, these bad emotions will not weigh you down. Start by being grateful each day for a supportive spouse, friends, family, nurses, doctors, and administrators that have held your hand throughout the journey of being a caregiver.

Physical Exercise or walking improves caregiver’s mood

Exercise is a great stress release. However, it is often hard to find time to exercise as a caretaker. This being said, it is vital to practice self-care for your well-being.Go go to a fitness center. If you don’t have the time, fit in a walk if you can get a friend or another family member to watch your loved one. Finally, try a exercise DVD at home.

If you can’t remember whether you took your medication, what do you do?

What happens if you don’t remember if you took your medications? When one is not sure if you took a pill, never, ever just take another dose yet. What could happen if you double dose? If someone ingests an additional dose, the consequences can be deadly. In fact, an extra dose can raise the risk of harmful effects. Check your pill organizer, count the remaining pills in the bottle, or review the instructions that came with your prescription to find specific guidance.

Health care profsionals are in agreement, “For most medications, it is safer to accidentally miss a single dose than to double dose” . Keep in mind that the pill/dosing guidelines vary drastically depending on the medication. For example, it is different for blood thinners or something like birth control.), it is always best to double-check with a professional. If in doubt, call the local pharmacy you got the prescription filled. Also, call e the America’s Poison Centers at 800-222-1222 . This can help if you are concerned about over dosing.

For further guidance, consult I can’t remember whether I took my medication, what do I do? on Medical News Today. To help prevent confusion in the future, you can implement some 9 Simple Strategies for Remembering To Take Your Medication or read the Why You Shouldn’t Skip Your Medication guide on WebMD.

If you are missing doses consistently, a few strategies can help get your routine back on track:

Use a weekly pillbox: These old fashion pill holders can be useful. They show a quick visual cue to show which days doses have been taken.
Use a Digital Pill Reminder: Medication reminders, like the Med-Q pill Box. have flashing guides. These alarmed reminders help preventing over dosing.
Try to do Habit stacking: Match up your daily pill-taking with a non-negotiable daily habit. For example, your first cup of coffee or brushing yourhair.
Set electronic reminders: Use persistent reminder apps, alarm clocks, or simple smart phone alarm reminders.

What to do if Unsure?

The worry about over doing is real. When unsure whether the dose has been taken, the best thing to do is speak with your health care provider or even your pharmacist. They will advise you on the best course of action based on ythe specific medication. that is over dosed.

If you take oral tablets or capsules, you can count how many pills you have left. If you know when you started taking the pills out of that prescription bottle, this could help you determine whether you’ve taken your dose for that day.

Sometimes, when you haven’t taken your medication, there may still be time to take that dose. However, this could depend on the drug and dosing schedule.

Although in some cases, if it’s almost time to take your next dose, your doctor may recommend skipping the missed dose and taking your next dose at its regular time. Never take two doses at once to make up for a missed dose as doing so could raise your risk of side effects.

What happens if you accidentally take your medication twice?

Do not take more of a drug than your doctor prescribes. While serious side effects may be rare, for some medications, taking more than the recommended amount may lead to harmful effects or overdose. Some of the most dangerous medications to double-dose include:

heart maintenece medications
ADHD drugs, for example “Adderall”
medications for Type 1 Diabetes
prescription narcotic pain pills
psychiatric medications , for example “Wellbutrin.”

If you have any doubt, act quickly.

Fist of all, contact your doctor right away. Let them know you may have accidentally taken two doses or three doses of your daily medication. They will offer up advice. The Healthcare profesional can often advise of what steps to take. Also, they will let you know about symptoms to watch out for.

Being a caregiver

Being a caregiver