In general, caregiving is something that you enter suddenly, or it’s a career path that you choose for yourself. While the people who choose the second option typically had time to prepare, the fact of the matter is that being a caregiver is a difficult job. Why is that, though? In this article, we’re going to cover some of the reasons why that is to help you better understand the role before taking it upon yourself.
The Person Has a Debilitating Condition
Sometimes, when someone needs a caregiver, it’s because they need help doing things around the house or can’t drive themselves anymore. Other times, though, it’s because the person has a condition that makes them unable to do anything. That means you’ll be the one who needs to do everything for them.
Even though you signed up for this when you agreed to be a caregiver, it’s much harder to cope with than most people realize. Needing to be there for someone 24/7 can be draining, and depending on their condition, it’ll take a lot of work to keep them happy. Even though many people who have these conditions realize this and try to make the situation easier for you, it doesn’t always help.
You Need To Be Ready for Anything
Depending on the condition of the person you’re taking care of, you’ll need to be ready for anything. For example, someone with incontinence could have an accident anytime, anywhere. There are some incontinence essentials that every caregiver must have to deal with such an issue, such as wipes and detergents. If you’re not ready for it, it’ll make your job that much harder.
Of course, this applies to any medical condition that the person you care for might have. In a lot of cases, your client or family member will be on the older side. That means you might have to deal with them potentially dying while in your care, which is never easy to deal with.
It’s Easy To Lose Yourself
Since the main part of being a caregiver is handling all the needs of the person in your care, that means you’ll have little time left for yourself. Trying to balance your personal life with being a caregiver is easily the hardest part of this job.
However, it’s up to you to ensure you still have a social life outside of the person you care for. Whether that means taking a day off every so often or finding about an hour each day to focus on yourself, you need to do this. If you don’t, you’ll end up resenting this job and your client or family member.
This Can Be a Rather Thankless Job
Finally, even though this isn’t always the case, being a caregiver can sometimes be a rather thankless job. Since you’re always around to take care of this person, the time will come when they’ll stop thanking you for doing things since it has become more normal. While this is understandable, it can still bring down your morale, so be sure to talk about this with your client or family member if it ever becomes a prevalent issue.