How to Deal with Guilt as a Long-distance Family Caregiver
Caregiver Lauderhill, FL
If you’re experiencing guilt because you’re a long-distance family caregiver, you need to deal with it as quickly as possible. Guilt can get in the way of caregiving and make it more difficult than it has to be.
Determine Why You’re Feeling Guilty
Before you work your way through the guilt, it helps if you can put your finger on why exactly you’re feeling so guilty. Is it because you’re not able to be there as often as you want to be or is it because someone else is telling you that you’re not doing what you should be doing? You can also feel guilty because you know that eventually something serious could happen to your elderly loved one. Once you determine exactly why you’re feeling the guilt, you can take steps to resolve the issue.
Assess Whether You Can Actually Change Anything
In some cases, you may not be able to make any changes. If that’s the situation you’re in, you’ll have to come to terms with that in order to resolve the guilty feelings. You may not be able to be there more often, but you may be able to make arrangements with other family members to visit your loved one more often or you may be able to hire elderly care providers. Look at what you can actually do that is concrete and helpful.
Keep the Lines of Communication Open
Guilt can make people shut down and stop communicating with each other and that only makes the situation worse. Whether your loved one is making you feel guilty or you’re feeling guilty on your own, don’t avoid communicating with your loved one or anyone else involved in the situation. If you can work together, you can come up with a solution that works for everyone.
Don’t Let Guilt Make Decisions for You
Another problem with guilt is that it can make people agree to solutions that they don’t want to agree to. You might bend to pressure that you feel due to guilt that causes you to make a decision that you regret. Follow that path too often and you’ll eventually come to a decision that is a make or break decision and you don’t want guilt in charge there.
Guilt can be a powerful emotion because it forces you to really look at the situation. If you can make changes to your circumstances, do it. If you can’t, there’s no reason to beat yourself up.
If you or an aging loved one are considering caregiver services in Lauderhill, FL to provide companionship, compassion and motivation, please contact the caring staff at Responsive Home Care. Call today 954-486-6440.
