How Assisted Living Helps Give Senior Caregivers Support
If you’re a caregiver, it’s common to feel the impact of your role on your well-being. It affects many areas of wellness—physical, mental, emotional, financial, and social. Eventually, many caregivers decide it’s time to look into professional care. Assisted Living helps senior caregivers and their loved ones get the support they need.
As you consider your options, your loved one may be ready to make the move to assisted living. Or, if you only need temporary relief from caregiving, assisted living can help with that too. While you want to do what’s best for your loved one, here are five areas where assisted living provides support for you as well.
1. Physical Well-Being
Many new caregivers are surprised by the physical toll of caregiving. Often, caregivers put exercise, health care, and other health activities aside because they are too busy. In fact, the Family Caregiver Alliance says the more hours you spend on caregiving, the more likely you are to report negative health effects.
As time passes, you may also find it more difficult to physically support or lift your loved one in a safe way. Assisted living not only gives you more time to care for your physical health. It helps ensure your loved one is in a safe, healthy environment too.
2. Mental Well-Being
Caregiving stress and mental well-being have a strong connection. If you are constantly stressed about your ability to take care of your loved one’s needs, it may be time for a change. This ongoing stress can put you at risk for mental health concerns.
In addition to reducing stress, assisted living helps give senior caregivers support by taking away the mental load they carry. From weekly meal planning to medications, you’re able to let go of your mental to-do list. You can find relief in knowing it’s taken care of by caring, trained staff.
3. Emotional Well-Being
It’s common to have many emotions as a caregiver. You may feel satisfaction from caring for a loved one. However, you may also feel sad, overwhelmed, or anxious. These negative emotions are normal in small amounts. But you may need relief if you feel them starting to bubble over.
Because it relieves some of the tension of the caregiver care-receiver dynamic, assisted living helps support positive emotions for both of you. You’re no longer focused on the worries or stress of daily tasks because of the additional caregiver support. This lets you refocus on the joy and love you feel for your loved one.
4. Financial Well-Being
According to the CDC, 1 in 4 caregivers has moderate to high financial strain because of caregiving. This can take many forms. For example, you may have missed work or had to change jobs due to caregiving. You might also be struggling to manage your loved one’s bills along with your own.
Assisted living helps senior caregivers regain the time they need to focus on goals outside of caregiving. Also, it offers relief from worries about multiple bills and different care providers. You have one set fee that covers numerous services.
5. Social Well-Being
Lastly, assisted living helps senior caregivers regain social wellness. A report from the AARP showed 1 in 5 caregivers were lonely. Caregivers may become isolated because their role takes up so much of their time and energy.
Assisted living provides both you and your loved one with social wellness. Your loved one has many activities to keep them engaged. At the same time, you have time to reconnect with friends or pick up a hobby you once enjoyed thanks to the additional caregiver support.
Assisted Living Supports Your Loved One and You
At Monticello West, we love helping seniors get the right care and providing caregiver support. We offer both long-term assisted living apartments as well as fully furnished apartments for short-term stays.
If you need a short break from caregiving this summer, our Respite Care program is perfect for you. Contact us today to learn more and schedule summer care.
