Caregivers Stress Relief, Part 2: Tips for Long-term Stress Relief

If you care for another full-time, you can fall victim to stress – even if this is your paid work. Studies link “caregiver burnout” to increased risk for many health problems. The last post covered a few things to do right now. Here, we present longer-term ways to reduce or even prevent stress in your life:

• Regular exercise is one of the best-proven stress relievers and mood enhancers.
  • Don’t overdo exercise, or it will become another stressor
  • Make a realistic time commitment – recent research shows that even grabbing 15 minutes a couple times per day has great benefit
  • Find activities you like better (or hate less)
  • If you have joint or movement problems, check the internet or your library for exercise videos made for people with disabilities
  • Ease slowly into the habit – if it doesn’t hurt, you might find you like it and stick with it
  • Get help from a trainer – done right, exercise should never hurt (effort is not pain)
• Stay away from things that particularly bother you – if it’s loud noises or clogged traffic, find ways to avoid them as much as possible.
• If you drive to your care-taking job, try leaving 15 minutes early for an entire week – you’ll be amazed at how a relaxed commute can improve your whole day!
• Set realistic plans and stick to them.
  • When your goals are doable instead of overwhelming, you can get yourself into a good groove.
  • When you plan, start by identifying your highest life priorities. Only include activities that support these priorities. For help, read The Ten Natural Laws of Time and Life Management by Hyram Smith – one of the best time investments you’ll ever make!
  • Repeat assurances to yourself out loud to strengthen your resolve: “My priorities are a, b, and c; my life and my time go to my goals.”
  • Also repeat as needed: “Don’t let the urgent get in the way of the critical.” How?
    • Identify what has to be done to avoid real problems – think paying bills to keep your mortgage
    • Cut out things that demand attention now (ringing phone) but don’t cause real problems if you ignore them (the ring tone is a gossipy friend).
    • This might mean re-thinking our current culture of giving everyone in our life the right to constantly interrupt our priorities by texting/tweeting/calling about every stupid little thing.
    • You might also rethink the time you spend texting/tweeting/calling about the trivial.
  • No prioritizing or planning method will help unless you learn to say “No.”
• Make sure you get enough sleep – there is so much medical evidence that 7-9 hours of sleep makes us more productive, that there is no sane excuse not to do this!
  • Keep a regular time for going to bed and getting up.
  • Turn down the lights an hour before you want to go to bed, and keep light out of the bedroom – or wear a sleep blindfold.
  • If you are sensitive to noises, run a fan or use a machine to produce white noise.
  • Avoid caffeine, other stimulants, and large meals after 5pm (or the equivalent hour to your shift schedule).
  • Avoid blue light from computer screens or TV during the hour before sleep – recent research shows that this will keep you awake.
  • Establish a soothing routine that helps you get ready for bed. Some options:
    • Breathing exercises and meditation
    • Gentle exercises and stretches – great if joint or muscle pain keeps you awake!
    • Massage your own feet or trade back rubs with your partner
    • A warm (not hot) bath, followed by rubbing lotion all over to relax your muscles
    • Listen to favorite soft music, switch to candle-light, burn some incense – whatever relaxes you and brings you pleasure.
  • Establish a pleasant routine for getting up:
    • Ditch the harsh alarm – this jerks you straight into fight-or-flight mode!
    • Modern clock radios let you insert your own CD – make yourself a happy mix, starting with a soft song to wake your gently; gradually progress to more energetic songs
    • If you wake up stiff and achy, use your wake-up music time to do gentle exercises and stretches in bed – getting out will be much easier!
    • Get a prescription for time with a physical therapist to teach you what to do – or do an internet search for gentle physical therapy that can be done lying down
  • Eat breakfast – again, there is so much research about health problems and weight gain from skipping breakfast!
  • If you have problems stomaching food in the morning:
    • Try a few almonds or a few bites of yogurt. After 15 minutes, you will probably feel better and able to eat at least a small, high-protein breakfast.
    • Check what you put into your stomach in the couple hours before sleep – many things can set you up for an upset stomach in the morning
      • Rich food, too much food, alcohol

Aspirin, naproxen, or other medications on an empty stomach