3 Ways Adult Carers Can Reduce Their Caring Load

Adult carers have a massive mental and physical load to deal with. They’re trying to live their own lives while simultaneously being responsible for so many others. For example, maybe you’re both a parent and a carer? As such, once you’re done with getting the kids up, washed, dressed, fed, and off to school, you have to do the same kind of routine for your parents too. 

And if a cold goes round the family, you may have to carry out all of these duties while feeling ill and tired yourself! All in all, you get little time to focus on you, and when you do, you’re exhausted. The work really takes it out of you, and there’s no saying how much more support you may need to provide in the future. 

So let’s reduce this caring load as much as we can, without removing you or your loved ones from each others’ lives. Here are three ways to cut back and carve out some freedom in your schedule.

Get a Babysitter

It’s OK to have a babysitter when you’re at home. You can leave them to mind the kids, meaning you can get on with whatever you want/need to do in the meantime. And we highly recommend using this time for your own benefit! 

The house can be cleaned later. For now, run yourself a hot bath and pour as many oils and gels into it as you like. Take some time to luxuriate and pamper yourself, and apply a little bit of the self care you’ve been thoroughly missing out on. 

Reduce Reliance on Yourself

If you’re the only person someone can call for help, they’re only ever going to call you! And that’s just an impossible thing to be able to keep up with, so try to reduce this reliance and provide some more options. 

One great way to do this is to get a gps tracker for seniors and teach your relative how to use it. This means they can easily call for the emergency services when they need to. They won’t even need to know where they are, which will be a real weight off in your mind. 

Set Boundaries

When you’re a carer, anytime someone else might get in touch to ask for something, you may want to throw your phone in the trash. That’s why it’s best to set boundaries with the people you love.

For example, if someone texts you a lot mid-morning, and that’s when you’re in the middle of cleaning your parents’/grandparents’ house, let them know you’re not OK with that. Tell them that’s when you’re busy, and let them know how distracting or draining this other call for communication can be. 

However, don’t end things there. Let them know what they can expect from you, and how you’ll ensure that you can continue to talk. 

Are you an adult carer? Reduce your caring load and get your energy back with ideas like these.