Taking care of elderly parents and children is a lot to juggle.
If your days are full of managing a home, parenting, working, caring for older parents, and attempting to fit in time for yourself while nurturing other relationships, welcome to the sandwich generation! Made up of those ages 35 – 54 who are “sandwiched” between meeting the needs of children at home and taking care of elderly parents, it won’t come as a shock to you that this segment of the population is dealing with higher degrees of stress than just about any other, with as many as 40 percent reporting severe degrees of stress.
Katherine Nordal, PhD, executive director for professional practice, American Psychological Association, explains, “It’s not surprising that so many people in that age group are experiencing stress. The worry of your parents’ health, and your children’s well-being as well as the financial concern of putting kids through college and saving for your own retirement is a lot to handle.”
It’s crucial to take the appropriate steps to lessen stress levels, as chronic stress may cause heart problems, high blood pressure, depression, diabetes, and other serious health risks. In addition to that, stress can carry over and affect the loved ones you’re working so hard to care for.
Inspired Home Care, providing trusted senior care in Wilmette and nearby communities, recommends the following suggestions to decrease stress and discover a healthier life balance:
- Recognize your triggers. What is it that tips the scale for you from busy to weighed down? Do your feelings of stress stem from relationships with your parents or children, financial concerns, issues at the office, feeling out of control?
- Note the manner in which you respond to those triggers. When you’ve acknowledged the source(s) behind your elevated stress, take an honest assessment of the way you respond. Do you lose patience with your family members? Struggle with staying/falling asleep, or following a healthy diet plan? Rely on detrimental coping mechanisms, such as drinking or smoking?
- Make self-care a top priority. You give so much of yourself to care for your family; make caring for yourself equally important. You can only provide the best care if your own needs are met. Set aside specific time to relax, participate in pleasant activities and hobbies, spend time with friends, exercise, etc. Your time away needs to be a leading priority, and to happen on a routine basis – ideally, each day.
If you are wondering how you can possibly carve out time for yourself with all of the other responsibilities you are balancing, we are able to help! Inspired Home Care is always here to provide dependable, experienced in-home respite care services – as much or as little as needed – to allow family caregivers peace of mind in knowing their older senior loved ones will be well cared for while they take needed time to step away.
Our highly trained and experienced senior caregivers are ready and able to help you lessen your stress to find a much better quality of life, both for yourself and those you love. Email or call us at 847-787-7572 to learn more about our senior care in Wilmette! For a full list of each of the communities we serve, please visit our Locations Served page.