Tips for Handling the Stress of Aging Parents

As your parents get older, your stress levels can rise. Whether your parents are beginning to lose some of their independence or already require in-home or residency elder care, there is a lot to think about and to organise.

Of course, one of the main things that affect your stress levels is worrying about their health and wellbeing, as well as their declining abilities to do, what use to be, simple tasks. Then there is the worry of how to afford the care they currently or one day will need.

To help you handle the stress of aging parents I have found some of the best tips on the web below:

Ask for help
Don’t be afraid to ask family and friends of your parents for help. Most of the time they are happy to lend a hand as they can sympathise with how difficult it is to deal with all the stress, all by yourself. If you don’t reach out for help you can become overwhelmed and exhausted and find that you have no time for yourself. If you focus all your time on looking out for your aging parent, it can affect your work, friendships, romantic relationships and even the relationship with your own immediate family so it’s important you ask for help when you find things are becoming difficult to juggle.

Share the workload
You should share the workload of looking after your ageing parent for many reasons that are stated above. To do this, talk to their friends and neighbours and see if they’re able to check in on a certain day of the week. You can coordinate with other family members to help with errands, grocery shopping or doctors’ appointments. It can be done – don’t be afraid to ask.

Make a plan in advance
As you get use to caring for your aging parents, you will notice that they begin to lose independence. If you don’t make a plan you will find that they find it more difficult to make decisions the older they get and some options might not be available or known about unless you do the research together. Look at the options for care homes for the elderly on websites such as Extra Care At Home and others similar. Making a plan with your aging parents allows you to create a blueprint that satisfies you, your aging parent and the rest of the family.

Join a support group
You may find when caring for an aging parent that you begin to feel lonely and feel the responsibility becomes a burden. You can fall into a rut and feel isolated and feel that your personal goals have been snatched away. Resentment can sometimes build up as you become more exhausted, and you can feel physically and emotionally drained. To help, you can join support groups, where you can meet people who are going through the same thing. They may be able to offer you advice. If you can’t spend much time out of the house, there are also online support groups, which substitute forums and chat features for in-person interaction.