Madeeha Syed

Caring for aging parents may cause psychological stress. Psychotherapy helps understand the causes of aging and provides better support to aging parents.

The Mental Toll of Caring for Ageing Parents and How to Cope?

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The Mental Toll Of Caring For Ageing Parents And How To Cope?

Overview

It&rsquo;s hard to care for someone else when they rely on you. You may blame yourself if they don&rsquo;t get better, or you get frustrated that they keep forgetting things. It can be a very emotional experience and it can also take its toll on your <a href="https://merisehat.pk/article/Mental%20Health">mental health</a>. However, there are ways to cope with this difficult situation by looking for sources of support in your community and taking care of your own physical and mental health as well.&nbsp;

To start off with, you should be able to:

<ol>
	<li>Recognise the signs of caregiver stress.</li>
	<li>Willingly to ask for help.</li>
	<li>Remember that you don&rsquo;t have to do it all alone. 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

tips for Ageing Parents care

<h5>Ask For Help</h5>

This may be hard to swallow, but it&rsquo;s true! There are people out there who are willing to help and who would love to assist you in any way they can.

Friends and family members can offer support, so don&rsquo;t hesitate to reach out to them when you need it. If your parents have friends who have children around the same age, those kids may be more than happy to spend time with them at their house or have them over for dinner. Neighbours might also be able-bodied enough that they could assist with the day-to-day tasks like taking out the trash or walking the dog while you take a break from caregiving duties. This is especially helpful if there&rsquo;s a shared driveway between houses where someone could park their car and walk up or down the side of each home quickly (and not disrupt traffic).&nbsp;

Remember: community resources are everywhere. You just need to find them and ask how they can help you get through this difficult time. 
&nbsp;

<h5>Join An Online Community</h5>

Online communities like Reddit provide an excellent opportunity for people who are caring for aging parents by offering advice on everything from medical issues like dementia treatment options (yes, there&rsquo;s an entire subreddit dedicated solely towards this topic) as well as helping connect caregivers with one another so they won&rsquo;t feel isolated when dealing with these responsibilities.&nbsp;

One Redditor even started his own thread called &ldquo;I&rsquo;m caring for my mum while she battles cancer (self).&rdquo; When looking at online forums specifically related to caregiving situations similar to yours, consider searching &ldquo;caring&rdquo; instead of &ldquo;caregiver.&rdquo; This will bring up all kinds of results including ones relevant specifically to yourself because those words aren&rsquo;t always used interchangeably when searching online resources such as Google but may appear in articles written by other users discussing similar topics that relate directly back to your situation(s) too.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<h5>Take Care Of Your Own Physical And Mental Health</h5>

When you&rsquo;re-caring for aging parents, it&rsquo;s important to remember that you are not a machine. Yes, you can continue to care for them and still be there for your children and partner. Remember, the best practice you can adopt to ensure that your parents are taken care of is by taking care of yourself.

You can begin by sleeping well, eating well, and exercising regularly. Even if you don&rsquo;t have the time or energy right now &mdash; and if this sounds like an unfamiliar concept &mdash; it will make all the difference in how effective you are at helping your parents. If you&rsquo;re running on an empty stomach or with little to no sleep, it will be harder to do things like get out of bed or even stay awake at work all day long. Your ability to handle stress will also suffer as a result; so much so that it may become difficult for everyone around you (including caregivers). 
&nbsp;

<h5>Look For Sources Of Support In Your Community</h5>

If you&rsquo;re feeling overwhelmed, there are many resources that can help. The following are some suggestions:

Talk to other caregivers. If you have a friend or family member who is also caring for an older parent, you have a built-in support system. You can share your experiences, commiserate, and offer each other advice. There&rsquo;s no shame in seeking out additional support from others who understand what it&#39;s like to care for an elderly loved one &mdash; in fact, it can be extremely beneficial!

Get involved with local support groups. Many cities have programs that connect caregivers with each other and provide them with information about available services and resources: check out your local community centers for help or information regarding similar programs.&nbsp;

Find a caregiver, mentor or peer group that meets regularly throughout the week; this could be an online forum or group chat room where people post questions related to caregiving responsibilities so everyone can discuss their responses together 
&nbsp;

<h5>It Can Be Hard To Take Care Of Someone Else, Especially Someone Who Raised You</h5>

It&rsquo;s common for adult children to feel torn between caring for their parents and taking care of themselves. It can be hard to juggle your own needs with your parents, and you may have a lot of guilt about needing time away from them.

For example, if you have young children, you might feel guilty about leaving them while you go on vacation &mdash; even though they&rsquo;re old enough to be left alone at home with a babysitter. If your parent is ill, it can be difficult to take the time off work that&rsquo;s needed in order to stay home with them. 
&nbsp;

Bottom Line

We know it&rsquo;s not easy to take care of an ageing parent. But if you find yourself feeling stressed, remember that there are resources out there for you. And don&rsquo;t forget to look after yourself! You&rsquo;re doing a great job and deserve to be treated well by those around you too.