Can Assisted Living Really Give You a ‘Break’ as a Family Caregiver?
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Acting as a family caregiver for somebody you love, whether it’s your mother or father, spouse, sibling, or somebody else, can really take a toll on your life. You may have looked at a variety of caregiver options before, like assisted living, but that senior wasn’t quite ready to commit.
Caregiver Greenville SC – Can Assisted Living Really Give You a ‘Break’ as a Family Caregiver?
Now, though, you are wishing there was some other way, some other option for you. You don’t want to make it seem as though you’re giving up on them. However, how much more can you really take?
You have been going full tilt, full bore for over a year. Maybe two or three or four. It’s been a long time. You have been working, taking care of your own children perhaps, and giving up so many other things you enjoy in life just to look after this aging loved one.
You feel yourself reaching that breaking point, that moment when you get frustrated with anything and everyone. You feel as though your relationships with people closest to you are changing, and not for the better. Perhaps your relationship with this senior has become extremely strained of late.
You don’t have to continue going it alone. You don’t have to continue straining and struggling against the tides of time and the difficulties that come with being a family caregiver. Even though the senior you love and support didn’t want to consider assisted living in the past, there are short-term options available.
These are commonly referred to as respite care services.
Keep in mind that not all assisted living communities will offer respite care, but for those that do, it can be a wonderful way for both you and the senior to take some much-needed time apart.
Respite care is all about short-term options. Depending on the facility, there may be options for one or two weeks at a stretch. Maybe even up to a month or more. At another facility, they may offer the option of seniors being dropped off in the evening to spend the night surrounded by experienced staff members and then be picked up in the morning to go home.
That option can be wonderful for those who live alone and face some difficult challenges, often in the middle of the night. There may even be options for a few days a week, nothing more.
Contact a local assisted living facility near you or that aging senior and find out if they have availability for respite care services.
What could happen if you choose this option?
If both you and the aging senior agree to try out some respite elder care services at a local assisted living facility, not only will you get a much needed break, get a chance to reduce your stress levels, and focus on things that are also important in your life, but the senior may come to realize just how valuable assisted living is for their future.
Many seniors who initially discounted the idea of assisted living when it was brought up realize it may very well be the best thing for them moving forward.
