See Below: TIPS, IDEAS & SUGGESTIONS FOR TAKING CARE OF OTHERS
Taking Care of Others
Have you ever thought about how many times a day you are taking care of others before you take care of yourself? As a parent, taking care of others comes with the territory.
But the reality is that being a parent includes a wide variety of responsibilities on a minute-to-minute basis. Among them, of course, is taking care of others, especially children.
As a mom of five grown children, now raising two grandchildren, every day is surrounded by taking care of others.
For many of us, parents and grandparents, taking care of children is only one part of the duties that parenthood requires.
Regardless of how attentive you are with your children, the list for taking care of others and other things is often long and extensive.
With SO many day-to-day obligations, besides children, the chore of caretaking can be exhausting!
Caring for Others Examples
When I assess where my time is spent taking care of others, I immediately recall the routine duties parents and grandparents have.
These jobs include shopping, for both food and clothing, cooking, laundry, schoolwork, and medical appointments.
Since both of my grandchildren have medical issues, scheduling and attending medical appointments can be quite frequent.
Additionally, as caretakers, we are taking care of others, such as our partners, our parents, and even our grandparents.
Often, our busy days can consist of taking care of others before we are even able to take care of ourselves.
This can truly become a problem for our physical health, our mental health, and our emotional health and well-being.
Taking care of others without taking care of ourselves can be detrimental to our loved ones even more than ourselves. See article for Best Results for Taking Care of Grandparents & Parents.
How To Take Care of Yourself
Self-care is an important part of providing your overall mental health and social well-being. Learning how to take care of yourself can help you balance daily stress and help you improve your overall health.
Over the years I have learned the importance of asking for support if you are feeling overwhelmed. Self-care means acknowledging areas in your life that trigger tension or anxiety.
Admitting to yourself when you need mental health support for either an emotional or psychological situation, will benefit your quality of life in many ways.
Continuously taking care of others can become lonely and depressing. Therefore, it is important to focus on how to take care of yourself while you are taking care of others.
Here are some tips on how to take care of yourself.
10 Ways to Take Care of Yourself
There are many ways to take care of yourself. However, these 10 ideas will help you improve your outlook on life and increase your energy.
1. Sleep:
Getting enough sleep is extremely important for kids and adults. Seven to eight hours is the recommended amount of sleep for all adults.
Children need more sleep. Their schedule is determined by their age. WebMD recommendations are:
Sticking to a daily sleep routine will help you to fall asleep at night time and wake up more rested in the morning.
It is highly suggested that all devices and screens, such as phones and TVs, are turned off before bedtime. Reading with a low light may initiate relaxation in order to fall asleep quickly.
2. Eating a Healthy Diet:
A well-balanced diet is essential for self-care. Adding lean meats, fruits, and vegetables will provide energy throughout the day.
Additionally, drinking water will help keep you hydrated and focused. Limit alcohol, soda, and caffeine.
3. Exercise:
Exercise is beneficial for both mental and physical health. Exercise, of any type, will help improve one’s mood, muscle mass, stamina, and flexibility.
Additionally, exercise releases endorphins, which are hormones or neurotransmitters, in our bodies that help manage stress.
Meaning that the physical movements that exercise provides help our brains feel good and allows us to maintain an overall sense of well-being.
4. Maintaining a Social Life:
While taking care of others, we often overlook the importance of taking care of ourselves and our own social needs.
Caretakers may be too tired to maintain their social life. Regardless of your hesitance, it is vital for your mental and emotional health to try to maintain a social life outside of those you are taking care of.
5. Friendships:
It may be difficult reaching out to friends who are living a different lifestyle than you are. But remember, your friends care about you and they want to be there for you.
Often, friends may not know what you need. Therefore, try reaching out to your friends for a lunch date or a small gathering.
Having fun with your friends is a great break away from your ongoing caretaking duties and sustains the value of having friendships.
6. Worship:
Regardless of your religious beliefs or faith, church can be an opportunity to cleanse your soul and your emotions.
Attending a scheduled service or sitting in silent prayer in a church can allow your mind space for reflection.
The church can be a source of strength for those who feel connected to a higher power.
7. Meditation:
Meditation and any type of mindfulness practice have a range of health benefits. Furthermore, meditation encourages emotional health, reduces stress, and improves self-awareness.
Learning to meditate can give you inner peace and solace during the hardest times of your life.
8. Be Positive:
Caretakers can face many challenges and difficulties. Avoiding negativity is important to your mental psyche!
Having an optimistic and encouraging outlook and attitude will help you focus on positivity.
9. Feeling Grateful:
While taking care of others, you may not have an overall feeling of gratitude. But it is important to remind yourself of the support and care you are giving to others.
Caretakers are often grateful they can provide the commitment and understanding it takes in taking care of others.
Therefore, having a sense of gratitude is important for caregivers and those being taken care of.
10. Journaling:
Journaling, or writing down our thoughts, ideas, and information can be very therapeutic.
Keeping written track of your daily reflections and experiences can give insight into your deeper feelings.
Journaling is an opportunity to clear your mind while documenting your innermost thoughts and emotions.
For 5 Free Ideas on How to Calm Your Mind.
Caring for yourself is essential in maintaining your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Understanding the benefit of self-care will provide the strength and endurance needed to continue to selflessly care for others.
Admittedly, it can be difficult to continue taking care of others without acknowledging the inner struggle and frustration you may be feeling.
It is important, to be honest and express to yourself and others areas that we feel we cannot say out loud.
Tired of Taking Care of Others
I love my family, so without sounding offensive or hurtful, I need to express that I AM TIRED OF TAKING CARE OF OTHERS! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!
The truth is, I was a very young mom. And, I was a very dedicated and devoted mom. I wasn’t perfect, but I ALWAYS, put my children and my family first! And I still do!
But now, after raising five children, I am raising my two oldest grandchildren. So, I’m still taking care of others and it’s a lot of work!
Besides caring for my two grandchildren, I continue to take care of the management of our home. Including the upkeep of our house, our garden, our animals, our shopping, our meals, our vacations (if any), our family get-togethers, family birthdays, holidays, etc. etc. etc.!
With our five children grown and living on their own, I should have less on my caretaker’s plate to take care of. Yet, in many ways, I feel like I have more jobs added to my plate regardless of how little time I seem to have.
As a grandmother, I am not only raising two grandkids, I take care of my other little grandkiddos one or two days a week. Of course, I love spending time with them, and at the end of the day, they go back with their parents. A typical grandchild/grandparent relationship.
Besides being a grandmother to my grandchildren, I am also a grandmother to my kid’s pets, particularly dogs. And although I love dogs, I REALLY don’t want to take care of someone else’s dog!
Seriously, this is where I throw my hands up and complain about being tired of taking care of others….including dogs!
What I Have Learned from Taking Care of Others
Honestly, I have been taking care of others longer than I have been doing anything else in my entire life and I am exhausted!
Caretaking has become my unexpected lifelong obligation. At this time, while raising my grandkids, it is very hard to change my situation.
Nevertheless, I am learning to stop overburdening myself unnecessarily and start to say NO, more frequently.
I am learning that when I am unavailable to care for kids or houses or dogs, or I don’t want to, I will say NO. And when I say NO, I will not be talked out of my decision! (That has happened many times and it is VERY upsetting because it is hard for me to say NO! So, if I say NO, I really mean it!)
I have learned that taking care of others should be a priority for a specific period of time and circumstances in our lives. But, no one, including moms or grandmoms, should be expected or required to take care of others for the rest of their lives.
TIPS, IDEAS & SUGGESTIONS FOR TAKING CARE OF OTHERS
- Be sure you are aware of the full caretaking roles and responsibilities before committing yourself.
- Set boundaries and guidelines and follow them.
- Be understanding of the limitations of those you are caring for.
- Be patient. Those you are caring for may have a variety of issues or concerns. Be sure to allow them time to get things done. Patience is vital when taking care of others.
- Learn to say NO! Do not get talked into taking care of someone or something you don’t want to care for. If you are not comfortable caring for someone or something, such as a pet, or a difficult person, say NO!
