Do You Know Your Own Stress Patterns as a Caregiver?

Stress affects every person differently. You might think of yourself as a laid-back person, yet caregiving causes you to experience more stress than usual. Digging into your stress patterns can help you to resolve situations before they become too big for you to handle.

Start Being Mindful about Your Thoughts

It’s really easy to go through your day and handle everything that is tossed your way, especially if you’re a busy caregiver juggling a lot of responsibilities. What happens, though, is that you lose track of what you’re really thinking and what you’re saying to yourself. Try to slow down and start to be mindful and aware of your own self-talk.

Listen to What Your Body Tells You

You need to start paying attention also to what your body is saying to you. If you’re tensing up in certain situations or you find that you grind your teeth at night, these are signs from your body. Your heart rate might jump when you’re experiencing stress or you might start to obsess about situations you can’t control. Pay attention to these signals and determine what they mean for you, personally.

Start Tracking How You’re Feeling

Start keeping a log of how you’re feeling and what your reactions are to certain situations that pop up in your life. You can start to notice patterns in both what types of situations you experience as well as how you react and feel about them. You might be surprised by some of the feelings that you uncover or by how often you’re experiencing those feelings.

Journal about What You’re Feeling and What Works for You

Digging deeper into those feelings with a journal can help you to figure out what is behind the emotions and what you might want to do about them. Keeping a journal also helps you to spot what works in a given situation and what you might have wanted to handle in a different way.

Once you know what to look for, you can start to respond more quickly to your own rising stress levels. These tips can help you to revisit this process as often as you need to in order to get relief.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Caregiver Services in Cornelius NC, please call the professional staff at Caring at Heart today at (704) 379-7510. Serving Charlotte, Statesville, Ballantyne, Mooresville, Huntersville, Matthews, Concord, Gastonia, Pineville and Indian Trail.