4 Things Caregivers Should Do For Themselves Every Day
Elder Care: If you’re caring for senior loved ones you are probably used to running on empty physically and emotionally.
Caring for senior loved ones is a marathon, not a sprint, and it requires a lot of physical and mental commitment. While it’s wonderful to have time to spend with your senior parents it can also wear you down if you’re not taking good care of yourself. You should first consider getting an elder care provider to help you care for your senior loved one. An elder care provider can take a lot of the daily care tasks off your plate.
Elder Care in Beech Grove IN: Caregiver Tips
Caregivers can burn out when they aren’t taking steps to protect their health. There are some things that caregivers should be doing every day to make sure that they are healthy and strong. Just like athletes, caregivers should be training themselves by:
Getting Enough Sleep
Sleep is critically important for both mental and physical health. Studies indicate that getting less than seven hours of sleep at night can cause significant health problems and can even impact your brain health. Caregivers need to sleep, preferably for at least eight hours every single night. Some caregivers will laugh at this and think that’s not possible for them. It may be a challenge but you should do what you can to try and get more sleep and better quality sleep. It’s the best thing you can do for your own well-being.
Eating Healthy Meals
When you’re stressed out and pressed for time grabbing a cheeseburger or eating pizza might seem a lot more appealing than eating a healthy meal. However, you need to be eating healthy meals to help you physically meet the demands of caregiving. If you are always in a hurry you can start keeping healthy snacks and foods in your car or in your bag so that you have healthy foods available at all times. Protein drinks and bars, dried fruit, granola bars, and water will be a lot better for your health than drive-through foods, sodas, or coffee.
Exercising
Everyone needs exercise to be healthy, but some people don’t realize that exercise can give you a mental boost as well as a physical one. Exercise helps lower stress levels and can help fight off the symptoms of depression. Even if you just go for a walk around the block or do twenty minutes of yoga stretches in your bedroom in the morning do try to make time for at least a little bit of exercise each day. If you make exercise part of your daily routine you will quickly notice that you’re feeling stronger mentally and physically.
Giving Yourself Down Time
Giving yourself time to do nothing is also crucial to good mental and physical health. Everyone needs some time each day to decompress. Try to fit in 15 or 30 minutes each day where you can journal, draw, take a bath, or just sit in your favorite chair with a cup of tea and let yourself process everything that happened during the day. Unscheduled time to feel your emotions, read a book, or do something else that is just for you is an important part of staying healthy.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering Elder Care in Beech Grove, IN, please call the caring staff at Home Services Unlimited. Serving Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: (317) 471-0760
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where she was the In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
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