Does your blood pressure soar once you finally finish filling your cart with groceries, only to find just one checkout lane open and a line of irritated shoppers ahead of you? Or when you arrive five minutes early for a doctor’s appointment, simply to have to wait 45 minutes to be seen? Some people just appear to project a natural sense of patience, whatever the circumstances. Wouldn’t you love to know their secret, especially when it comes to finding extra patience when caregiving for an older adult?
Thankfully, it is possible to build your level of patience when caregiving in much the same way that you grow your endurance in exercising – through practice. Independence-4-Seniors Home Care, a leading provider of senior care in La Grange and the nearby area, recommends the following tips to bolster your caregiving patience muscles.
How Do I Become More Patient?
- Intentionally put yourself in circumstances that require patience. Let someone go ahead of you the next time you are standing in line. Make yourself wait a couple of minutes (or more!) prior to checking your phone. Initiate a conversation with an individual who tests your patience.
- Accept your current circumstances. Perhaps the person you are caring for is taking considerably longer to get dressed than you would like. Remind yourself that your job is to provide care but also to allow the person to remain as autonomous as possible, and often that will call for allowing some additional time and a good measure of patience.
- Attempt to channel your inner child. Let yourself laugh more and be silly, and remind yourself not to permit the little things that aggravate you to become big things. A little lightening up and letting go can go a long way towards getting rid of stress.
- Make a conscious effort to truly listen when others are talking. It is very easy to begin formulating your response before the person has finished, but make an effort to place all your focus instead on everything they are saying.
- Resist the desire to immediately fix or problem-solve. Allow something that is broken to remain broken for some time instead of pressuring yourself to quickly deal with it.
- Take a moment to simply focus on your breathing and to be in the moment. As soon as 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 remain patient. Let a caregiver from Independence-4-Seniors Home Care help. We are able to provide a full range of in-home care services that can help you free up the time you need. Reach out to us at (630) 323-4665 for more information about our senior care in La Grange and the surrounding areas and to ask about a free in-home consultation.