5 Questions To Ask Yourself To Increase Your Understanding of Your Own Needs As A Caregiver
We each can play many roles in our lives. From son/daughter, worker, parent, role model spouse, and caregiver. Handling a plethora of roles and balancing care, career and life can come with different sets of challenges and feelings. We all need a break from normal day-to-day plans occasionally and it is no different for caregivers.
Caregiving can generate many feelings and reactions. No one should feel guilty about their feelings positive, negative or indifferent.
Research shows that spending 15 minutes reflecting on yourself or day can improve your performance by 23%. Self-reflection can demonstrate a more productive mindset and even help you to feel happier and improve your overall emotional wellbeing.
So what kind of questions can we ask ourselves?
- What is my favorite way to spend the day?
- What made me smile today?
- When do I feel most inspired?
- What is something you did with compassion for someone else? Knowing that, what would compassion look like for yourself?
- How much sleep do I need and what activities do I need most?
Don't stop at these 5 questions. They are here to get your started on being more introspective. One of the easiest ways to stay tuned to YOU is through journaling. Our partners at Dementia By Day and Home Care Providers are sharing a FREE journal here.
What questions can you ask yourself in order to gain increased understanding of your needs? Asking yourself questions can help improve your own self-awareness which can lead to increasing your understanding of others as well.
And make sure you can re-balance your life and know as a caregiver YOU must also be taken care of mentally and physically.
Other research shows that there is a significant reduction of stress and increased feelings of competence when caregivers have included a self-care practice into their daily routine. Start your self-reflection practice today!
All in all, caregivers need ways of expressing their feelings. Friendship, counselors, help lines or support groups, Facebook groups, journals, whatever works. Bottling up your feelings won’t do you any good because they will spill out in unexpected ways. You must take care of yourself so that we can continue to create a caring society in which each of us lives a strong quality of life including dignity, purpose, and security.
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