Caregiver Help Word of the Day - NO Did you know you can say “No” to your care receiver? As a caregiver you have a lot of responsibilities. There are a ton of things you HAVE to do, but heres a big news flash: You do NOT have to do everything other people want you to do, and you do NOT have to accept the responsibility for another person’s reaction to any given situation. Sometimes in order to take care of yourself, you have to be willing to let other people get angry. Years ago my husband and I were in an emotional tug of war over a conference I wanted to attend. We’d talked about it, fussed about it, tiptoed around it, and finally one day I said, “You know, Alex, no matter what I decide to do about this, one of us is going to be upset.” We were both a little surprised when I then said, “This time it’s not going to be me!” Here are two sentences I hope you’ll memorize and use: That doesn’t work for me. I need to do this for myself. Using these statements closes the door to negotiation. It isn’t mean. It isn’t selfish. It’s all about survival. In order to take care of yourself, you have to be able to say No once in a while. You will feel healthier emotionally, mentally and physically when you set some boundaries. And when you aren’t feeling angry or resentful, you and your care receiver will both benefit. **** Elaine K Sanchez is an author, speaker and co-founder of CaregiverHelp, a video-based caregiver support program. Contact her at Elaine@EKSanchez
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 14:36:49 +0000
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