caregiving stress - elder care st. louis

You know what it’s like to have “one of those days” – you’ve hit the snooze button one too many times and missed a major appointment, the coffee maker picked today to quit working, you stumbled over the dog, dropping your phone and shattering the screen, and as if that’s not bad enough, you feel a cold coming on; and it’s not even 8 a.m. yet.

For people who are caregiving for an older loved one, every day can feel overloaded with this same level of caregiving stress. At Compassionate Nursing Services, top providers of St. Louis home health care that seniors need, we get it! Concerns over making sure that your loved one is comfortable, safe, and healthy couple with the stress of how to finish all of the day’s to-dos, and the last thing on a caregiver’s mind may be a hearty belly laugh. Nonetheless, that may actually be just what the doctor ordered to lower stress and enable you to rediscover the joy and advantages of providing care for your loved one.

As a matter of fact, the advantages of laughter to both our emotional and physical health are significant and well documented, including:

  • Giving our immunity a boost
  • Decreasing our levels of stress hormones
  • Decreasing pain
  • Enhancing the heart’s functionality and decreasing heart attack risk
  • Releasing endorphins that promote stress reduction for as much as an hour
  • And even raising our chance of a longer life!

Of course, we’re not advising taking serious problems lightly, or laughing at your senior loved one. The key is in looking for humor in the day-to-day moments you face, and then sharing laughter together. Following are a few suggestions to get the ball rolling:

  • Arrange for an afternoon of comedy. Find an amusing movie your family has enjoyed in the past, or a taping of a stand-up comedian, grab some snacks, sit back and enjoy the show.
  • Browse online for jokes, funny stories, and one-liners, and accumulate a list of those that are especially funny. Schedule certain points throughout the day as “joke time,” dropping whatever chore or task you’re doing at those specified times, and taking a quick joke break.
  • Spend time with children. Children are innately joyful, and merely being around them as they play will undoubtedly lead to boundless possibilities for laughter.
  • Take time to reminisce over treasured funny stories from the past. Pulling out family pictures or old home movies is a wonderful way to trigger favorite memories.
  • Break out of the daily routine. It’s easy to become stuck in a pattern of busyness with duties and then crashing in front of the TV. Organize an outing to try something out of the ordinary with your senior loved one and simply enjoy quality time together.

Compassionate Nursing Services is always available to help reduce stress in a variety of ways. Allow us to provide support with housework, laundry, preparing meals, running errands and more, and rediscover the enjoyment of having fun with your senior loved one! Providing St. Louis home health care that families trust, we’re here with as much or as little assistance as needed to improve quality of life for both your senior loved one and yourself. Contact us at 314-432-4312 to learn more about the best home care solutions of St. Louis and the surrounding area!