With the holidays just around the corner, the anxiety of this busy season might soon be taking a toll. After all, you are barely keeping up with a normal routine of work, friends and family caregiving, right? Throw in everything the holiday season entails, such as shopping, baking and parties, and you may already anticipate feeling overwhelmed.
Check out these positive ways to keep holiday stress at bay, from professionals at Home Instead Senior Care.
Be flexible: The holidays are steeped in personal, family and religious traditions. That’s a lot of responsibility for family caregivers. As a family caregiver, ask yourself: “What is important to continue, and what can we adapt or let go?”
Take care of yourself: Do your best to maintain a healthy routine by including time for grocery shopping, meal preparation, exercise, and down-time into your schedule. And don’t sacrifice sleep in order to get things done, but rather eliminate some of those not-so-necessary things on your to-do list and keep your sleep schedule intact.
Communicate your needs: Difficult family dynamics can take center stage during the holidays. If family members can no longer continue their traditional holiday roles, that may cause conflict. Communicating is the best way to help smooth out problems and avert new ones.
Plan ahead: Many people start holiday shopping weeks in advance. Why not approach holiday preparations in much the same way? Before the season arrives, start making a list of who can do what, so that no one is overwhelmed with work.
Make time for your traditions: No doubt, you have carried over family traditions. But you’re just as likely to have generated new family holiday activities. Don’t let those go by the wayside during the busy holiday season. It can lead to conflict in your own family.
Be resourceful: Take the offer for help. If someone wants to help, say “yes” to that casserole or an offer to run an errand. Saying “yes” to help can also mean taking advantage of professional in-home senior care services.
Too Much of a Good Thing Can Add to the Stress
An older adult also can feel overwhelmed during the holidays with too much of a good thing.
Too much activity: Some conditions of aging, such as dementia, may cause agitation in older adults. Tune into the amount of activity that surrounds a senior during the holidays and adapt as necessary.
Too many visitors: Seniors with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia could react negatively to the presence of too many people. Take care not to turn a positive holiday party into a negative event for the older loved one in the family by subjecting your senior to too many visitors.
These tips can help make your holidays extra special this year by avoiding the unnecessary stress the season may bring . . . For more information about how home care could help you The local Home Instead Senior Care local franchise office can be reached at 813.684.1972 or www.homeinstead.com/482
This article has been sponsored by: Home Instead Senior Care of Brandon
