If you have a family member who’s just recently been injured and is in need of some help in caring for themself while they recover from their injury, there are a few things that you should keep in mind that can help to make this difficult time a little bit easier on everyone.
To help you in knowing just what these things are, here are three tips for caring for an injured family member when they aren’t in an assisted living or care facility.
Keep Lines Of Communication Open
In the early days of dealing with an injury, your loved one will likely need a lot more help from you. But as they start to recover, the care that you’ll need to give them will change. However, the only way to know this is to keep the lines of communication open with them. As you do this, they’ll feel more comfortable with you sharing what their needs are and getting those needs met.
For many people, it can be hard to ask for and accept help, especially of such a personal nature. But as you ask genuine questions to discover what care your family member is needing and how that level of care is changing on a day-to-day basis, you’ll both find that you’re more comfortable with the care situation and can work much easier with one another.
Find Ways To Manage Your Own Stress
Caring for someone that can’t do a lot for themselves can be very stressful on the caregiver. Especially if you don’t really have someone else that is sharing the load of the caregiving with you, you’ll really need to find some ways to manage your own stress and emotions about the situation.
To help you in doing this, try to pinpoint what causes you the most stress about caregiving and then find ways to ask for help in these situations. For example, you can ask for your support network to bring in meals a few times each week, hire someone to clean for you, find someone that can sit with your family member while you take a break, connect with caregiving support groups, and so much more.
Help Them Be As Self-Sufficient As Possible
If the injury that your family member has suffered from is one in which they’ll slowly recover, you should seek to help them relearn how to be as self-sufficient as possible in the care that you’re giving them. As they become stronger, allow them to do more of the heavy lifting in the care department. This way, they’ll continue to strengthen themselves as they heal.
If you have an injured family member that you’re caring for, consider using the tips mentioned above as you seek to give them the best possible care.