Interestingly, my copy of Family Practice Management came across my email last week with the lead story entitled “Five Ways to Stop Making Excuses and Start Practicing Self-Care.” I have been thinking a lot lately about how best to talk to you, Alzheimer’s disease caregivers, about just this topic.
The article starts with these words, “You cannot effectively take care of others or sustain a career in medicine unless you take care of yourself. In the busyness of day-to-day practice, you may feel like you don’t have the time or energy to invest in self-care, but you can’t afford not to.”
Other than the mention of a medical practice, doesn’t that sound like something caregivers need to hear and heed?
You cannot be as effective a caregiver as you want to be if you are not also taking care of yourself.
My medical journal article talked mostly about taking care of your physical health, and I’ve discussed that here as it pertains to physical exercise. A few points in the article were helpful for caregivers: set a specific and doable goal, realize what the obstacles are and make a plan to counter them, measure your successes, and make note of how you feel after achieving the goals. This could apply to several health related goals, including making healthier eating choices, increasing the amount of sleep you get, or stopping a bad habit such as tobacco use.
For example, if you want to eat healthier, decide first what changes you will make. Fewer calories? Low carb? Low fat? For this example, let’s just go with fewer calories. Where specifically could you cut calories? Dessert? Salty snacks? Large portions? Then look at the obstacles you might meet. Maybe you love a special treat like ice cream every evening with your loved one. You might combat that by continuing the time together, but you could choose to eat frozen blueberries instead (and let your loved one eat the ice cream!) Then, every week, take stock of how well you met your goal, and where you might need to make adjustments. Eventually, you’ll be able to measure your success in pounds, but even if you don’t lose weight, know that you are healthier at your current weight than you were before you made the changes.
Being the healthiest you that you can be also includes taking care of your own health issues. See your physicians regularly, get your yearly mammogram, get your eyes checked, see the dentist, take your medications, stay on top of your colonoscopies. Do I really need to tell you this? Of course not. You know it’s true. But I get to say these things because I am a physician and I want you to be as healthy as possible while caring for your loved one.
The last thing you need is for a health disaster to befall YOU. So be proactive.
Put your own oxygen mask on first.
Darn, that is hard! When you’re a caregiver, your loved one’s needs always seem to take precedent over your own. They are the ones needing care. We are the ones providing it. “I’m fine!” How many times have you said that?
OK, off my medical lecturing soapbox. Next week, I’ll discuss other aspects of caring for yourself.