Journaling about your stress is one way you can work to find ways to manage it better. Especially as a caregiver, how you deal with your stress matters.
Write out What Happened
From a calm space, think about what happened that caused you stress. What exactly happened? Try to write out what occurred in as much detail as you possibly can. You’re going to need this information later to refresh yourself about what happened, but you also want this amount of detail so that you can dig a little bit deeper. Don’t judge anything as you’re writing it down, just try to stick to the facts.
How Did You Feel?
During the situation that caused stress for you, how did you feel? Really take the time to investigate what your emotions were at each stage of the situation. At first, you might have just felt a little bit of stress and perhaps you were moderately irritated. Or maybe it was a situation that made you angry right from the first moment. It’s important that you can name and understand what you were feeling and why.
List out What Helped and What Didn’t Help
The next step in your journaling is to examine what you tried both in the moment and afterward to try to deal with the stress and the other feelings you were experiencing. Some of the things you tried didn’t work at all, but others might have helped more than you realized at the moment. Take the time to jot down those details because you think you’ll remember, but you won’t.
Could You Have Done Something Else?
What other steps could you have taken? Perhaps you took a quick walk to burn off some frustration, but was this a situation in which you could or should have expressed your feelings to the person involved? When you examine and name the other steps you could have taken you increase the odds that you might try those techniques in the future.
In the calm after the storm, it’s easier to see what you might have done differently that could have made the situation a lot better. Maybe making time for yourself and bringing in your loved one’s elder care providers more often is one answer. If you can pay particular attention to this step, it can really help you in the future. The next time you’re in a similar situation, you are more likely to remember the solutions that you dreamed up during this step and you can actually put them to good use.
Journaling about the stress you’re experiencing as a caregiver allows you to look more deeply into what’s causing your stress and what you might do to resolve it. You can also use this journal as a way to see how far you’ve come when you’ve started to make progress.
Excerpt: When you journal about something you have an opportunity to examine it from a slightly different angle.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Caregivers in Weddington, NC, please call the caring staff at Blue Dot Cares today, (704) 586-9248.
