Rushing Around as a Caregiver for Mom? Slow Down and Stay Safe

Family Caregivers in Clayton, NC – When Getting Things Done Quickly Puts You and Your Elderly Loved One at Risk

With a million and one things to do during the day, it might feel as though you have to rush around to get everything accomplished. When you agreed to be a family caregiver for your mother, maybe you didn’t fully appreciate what was to be expected of you.

Now that you’ve been doing this for some time it seems you’re doing more and more for her. You could be running errands, going to the store to purchase food, getting prescriptions refilled at the local pharmacy, taking her to doctors appointments or to visit friends, helping her keep the home clean, doing laundry, assisting her getting in and out of bed, preparing meals, and the list goes on and on. Maybe you’re doing all of these things around your own full-time job and other family responsibilities.

Whenever we have a tendency to be extremely busy, one thing that tends to happen is that you rush through everything. Getting things done is suddenly far more important than being safe or making sure they are done properly. This can often be a common problem within many businesses, especially when deadlines are impending and employees are way behind on the workload.

Safety concerns when rushing.

There are numerous safety issues that arise when you try to do things much faster than you would if you didn’t feel pressured for time. You might drive a few miles an hour faster through town. That yellow light you know is going to turn red before you actually get to it might be something you ignore this time.

You could run down the stairs to throw load of laundry in the washing machine and do it a bit faster than your feet can keep up. You might be trying to make dinner and do it in record time. A knife could slip, you could get your hand burned on the stove, or a million other things could go wrong.

If you were to get injured as a family caregiver for your mother, then what would happen? Not only could the rest of your life be thrown upside down and inside out, but it could pose a potential issue for her as well.

The solution is simple.

If you’re feeling completely overwhelmed and you’re putting yourself and potentially even others at risk because your rushing around, sit down and talk to your mother about bringing in a referred caregiver. Experience could make a world of difference and you would likely be pleasantly surprised at how comfortable your mother would be with a different person caring for her, even if it’s only for a few hours a week.

The articles posted on this blog are provided for general information and discussion purposes only.  These articles are not intended to suggest anything with respect to the operations or services of this office.