What's Your Plan for Managing Stress?

If you don’t already have a plan for managing your stress levels as a caregiver, you need to develop one. These tips can help.

Learn What Stress Looks Like for You

Stress looks different for everyone. You might not be able to sleep when you’re stressed, for example. Or you might only want to sleep. Other symptoms might involve your memory, your moods, or even your appetite. Take a good long look at what stress looks and feels like for you and then write down your symptoms. This is going to help you to recognize when you’re getting stressed so that you can put your plan in action.

What Stresses You Out?

Now you need to know what it is that sends you into stress. Overwhelm and simply having way too much to do is a common source of stress for family caregivers. Or you might get seriously stressed out by having to make phone calls. Start paying attention to your daily life and look at what situations create stress so that you can determine how to manage those situations when they pop up.

The Things You Can Change

Some of the situations that stress you out are situations you have no control over whatsoever. Your senior’s health is not something you can control, of course. How you react to your senior’s health is something you can control. If phone calls stress you out, perhaps you can get the information you need via email or perhaps there is a family member who can make the calls for you. Look for what you can modify and what you can’t so that you can get to modifying.

What Breaks a Stress Funk?

Everybody has those little rituals or tactics that help them to destress. You have them too, even if you don’t recognize them right off the bat. You might soak in a hot bath when you’re really feeling stressed. Or maybe you bake cookies or you read a book. Make a list and then assess which stress breakers are healthy choices. Those are the ones you want to stick with more often.

Put it All Together

Once you’ve looked at all of these different factors, you’re basically looking at your own personalized stress relief plan. If you’ve written down your answers, you can refer back to them more easily when you need to.

Having a plan gives you something to fall back on when you’re deep in the throes of stress. It’s really difficult to think logically when stress is squeezing you, so referring to your plan gives you something solid to rely on when things don’t feel so solid. Revisit your plan regularly so you can change anything that isn’t working for you anymore.

If you or an aging loved one are considering caregivers in Perth Amboy, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care of New Brunswick today. Call (732) 607-8870.