Practicing Patience as a Family Caregiver

Does your blood pressure soar once you finally finish filling your cart with groceries, simply to find just one checkout lane open and a line of annoyed shoppers ahead of you? Or when you arrive five minutes early for a doctor’s appointment, only to have to wait 40 minutes to be seen? Many people just appear to project a natural sense of patience, no matter what the circumstances. Wouldn’t you like to know their secret, particularly when it comes to locating extra patience as a family caregiver?

Thankfully, it is possible to build your level of patience in much the same manner in which you build your endurance in exercising – through practice. Try these strategies from our experts in respite care in Dowagiac, MI and other Michigan communities to bolster your caregiving patience muscles.

How Can I Become More Patient?

• Make a conscious effort to really listen when others are speaking. It’s very easy to begin forming your response before the person has finished, but make an effort to place all of your focus instead on everything they are saying.
• Accept your present circumstances. Perhaps the person you are providing care for is taking a lot longer to get dressed than you’d like. Remind yourself that your job is to provide care but to also allow the person to stay as independent as possible, and often that may require allowing some additional time and a good measure of patience.
• Resist the urge to immediately fix or problem-solve. Allow something that is broken to remain broken for some time as opposed to pressuring yourself to immediately deal with it.
• Deliberately put yourself in situations that call for patience. Let someone go ahead of you next time you’re standing in line. Make yourself wait a few minutes (or more!) prior to checking your phone. Initiate a conversation with someone who tests your patience.
• Attempt to channel your inner child. Let yourself laugh more, be silly, and remind yourself not to let the little things that aggravate you become big things. Just a little lightening up and letting go can go a considerable way towards reducing stress.
• Take the time to simply focus on your breathing and to be in the moment. When your thoughts start to wander, recognize the distraction, but gently guide your thinking back to your breathing.

When time is of the essence, however, it becomes more difficult to stay patient. Let a caregiver from Home Sweet Home In-Home Care, a provider of respite care in Dowagiac, MI and other Michigan communities, help. We are available to provide a full range of in-home care services that will help you free up the time you need. Reach out to us at (866) 229-2505 to learn more and to request a free in-home consultation.