How to Accept Help from Others as a Family Caregiver

Caregiver in Aurora

Family caregivers can be a little less skilled about accepting help from other people than they are at helping the people that they love. The process of learning how to accept help can be nerve-wracking at first, but it gets easier with more practice.

It’s Okay to Need Help

For some family caregivers, admitting that they need help is extremely difficult. They’re more used to helping others than they are accepting help from other people. In many cases, their default answer is to deny offers of help because they don’t want to put other people out. The sooner that you can admit that help is okay to accept, the easier it will become.

Start Saying Yes Before Saying No

One way to learn how to accept help from other people is to stop replying with “no, thanks” as soon as someone offers you help. When you get an offer of assistance, stop, take a deep breath, and then respond with a yes. As you get more and more practice with saying yes, you’ll be less likely to turn down help when it arrives.

Make a List of Tasks People Can Help You With

Sometimes people ask a family caregiver, “What can I do for you?” This kind of open-ended question is often difficult for caregivers to answer because they honestly don’t know how to answer it. Start making a list of tasks that people can do for you. Those tasks might range from simple ones such as sitting with your loved one for a few minutes while you run an errand up to more complicated tasks. You might even want to start putting names next to each item so you know who you might ask for help.

Hire Help if You Need It

Some family caregivers don’t have a large support network, which can make life a little more difficult. If that’s the boat that you’re in, consider hiring home care help who can step in and handle some caregiving tasks for you. They can handle personal care tasks for your loved one or keep your loved one company while you’re away.

Learning how to accept help from others can be one of the most important skills that you learn as a family caregiver.

If you or an aging loved one are considering caregiver services in Aurora, contact the caring professionals at Staff Relief Health Care 24/7 at 905.709.1767.