Eight (8) 2025 Resolutions for Caregivers

Eight (8) 2025 Resolutions for Caregivers

The United States population that is over 65 years of age will grow from just under 50 million to nearly 90-100 million in the next 30 years! Currently, nearly 10,000 baby boomers a day turn 65 years old. This is going to continue for the next 30 years.  These numbers will have a significant impact on family caregiving.

Here are eight (8) 2025 resolutions for caregivers.

  1. Assess your caregiving needs. Have your caregiving needs changed in any manner? Is your mother falling more?  Is your father exhibiting increased memory issues?  What is the reason for this change? Do you need to make an appointment with her doctor to discuss the change? Does he need to see a specialist?  Do you need to make home modifications to make the home safer? Do you need to consider a move to a senior community?
  2. Read about your loved one’s specific disease and aging issues. Educate yourself about the illness and disease affecting your loved one. You will feel more in control. You will have more confidence in your ability to fulfill your caregiving responsibilities. You will have more confidence in speaking with medical and health care professionals about loved one’s needs and treatment. You will be a better advocate for them.
  3. Plan in advance. Time management is important to anyone who has additional responsibilities as a caregiver. Planning will alleviate some stress, not all stress. Look at your daily and weekly schedule-is there a regular time that you can schedule necessary caregiving duties? Put those duties on your daily and weekly calendar. Are there doctor appointments and procedures that are coming up down the road? Do you need to take time off for several hours or a day or two?  Do you need to ask someone else to step in to assist you on those days?
  4. Ask for assistance from family and friends. You have not, because you ask not. Don’t take on the role as the sole family caregiver when you have other siblings. Being the sole caregiver will become very lonely and frustrating. Ask for and even demand assistance. Call a family meeting and discuss what is needed and agree on what caregiving responsibilities will be taken on by each family member.
  5. Hire help when and where needed. Delegate tasks out to hired professionals that can be delegated.  Hire someone else cut the grass?  Can you hire someone do the fall yard clean-up? Hire a housecleaning service to clean once a month? Hire a caregiver to come in once a week to help provide assistance? Hire someone to drive mom to and from her outpatient physical therapy appointments?
  6. Use services to make your life easier and to save time. The pandemic has changed the way many of us use services. I have rarely gone inside any store for the past five (5) years! I purchase most necessities via delivery or curbside.  This has saved me gas and valuable time. I have taken full advantage of purchasing everything from toilet tissue to detergent on-line and having them delivered to my home for free. If you prefer to order on-line and pick up your items up curbside, that also saves you the time that you would have spent walking the aisles and putting the items in your cart. You can purchase grocery items remotely and have them delivered to your home using a number of moderately priced and expanding delivery services.
  7. Participate in a caregiver support group. In recent years many of these have been moved to on-line.  Support groups offer validation for what you are experiencing as a caregiver and are a great source of information that may be helpful, especially resources that you may know nothing about.
  8. And finally, practice self-care. Take care of your physical, emotional, spiritual and financial health needs. Neglecting these needs will lead to negative outcomes for you and the person or persons you are providing care. Schedule time on your calendar for physical, emotional, spiritual and financial self- care activities just like we have suggested you schedule your caregiving responsibilities.

Happy New Year 2025!

 

Picture credit: freepik.com

Gretchen Curry, MSPH