In the past few weeks I've been stressed out about the care of a loved one. Today, unstressed, I thought about what created that stress and how to avoid it in the future.
Not knowing
Not knowing is stressful. Caring for our loved one for me was like being dropped on a new planet without any instructions about survival. I didn't know what to do, and the directions we received were complex, confusing, and difficult to translate. Fortunately, after a few weeks of working with a good care team, I know better undersand the instructions and know what to do. This is good. If I were to enter a situation like this again, I think I would work harder up front to understand the situation better.
Insufficient environment and supplies
Not only did I not know what to do, but we didn't have the right supplies or environment to provide the best care. Now, after learning what's needed and acquiring those supplies and altering the environment a bit, we have a somewhat sufficient environment for good care. That greatly reduces the stress and gives us what we need to provide good care.
No routine
Not having a caretaking routine was stressful too. Not being able to rely on any kind of routine created a somewhat chaotic caretaking environment, but now, with a loose-tight routine in place, there's some good order that helps us to care for our loved one better.
What can we expect, and what's important?
Understanding the illness more via reading and consultation has made helped me to better understand what we can expect and what's important. This provides good perspective.
So, in thinking about situations that create undue stress, I think these questions can help to reduce the stress.
- What's going on?
- What are the priorities?
- Do we have what we need in terms of supplies, care, and environment?
- What is a positive routine in this situation?