Whether your aging loved one has a new chronic disease he has to live with or has battled one his whole life, you may know that a part of the battle is not just physical but mental. You can hire a home care provider to help with the tasks that your loved one can no longer do on his own, and while a home care provider will help by being a supportive person in your loved one’s life, he will also need to learn how to mentally cope with a disease or condition that seems unfair and never-ending.
Having a chronic disease not only wears on a person physically as parts of the body either no longer function at all or don’t function the way they should, but it also takes a toll on a person’s mental health as they battle the depression and anxiety that comes alongside it.
These daily affirmations or practices might help your loved one live better with the chronic condition he has.
Stop blaming himself.
Many times those with a chronic illness may feel a lot of guilt about why/how they got the disease or condition that they are trying to manage. That self-loathing can lead to making the conditions worse and can create a cycle of depression and frustration. The shame that is felt often leads to other self-destructive behaviors such as drinking or overeating.
If your loved one seems to blame himself for his condition, remind him that no matter how he got there, no one blames him. Helping him find peace with his condition will help boost his mood, which in turn may help the treatments and therapy he is doing to work better.
Honor his limitations.
If your loved one is someone who has a hard time saying no to others, he might struggle with honoring his limitations and you might need to help him on this. It might mean saying no to going to his second cousin’s 53rd birthday party on the other side of the state because that much traveling will do your loved one more harm physically than the second cousin could ever appreciate. Offer yourself up as the “bad guy” if your loved one needs a bit of help saying no.
Realize his illness doesn’t fully define him.
Your loved one is so much more than his condition or disease. Help him rediscover his passions. He might need to do them differently, but with a little creativity, he should be able to enjoy what makes him uniquely him. For example, if your loved one enjoys cooking, but can no longer hold a sharp knife, having a home care provider help with prepping can allow him to still cook.
Let go of some expectations.
If your loved one’s condition has made it impossible for him to perform certain tasks anymore, help him ask for help and find comfort in that help. A home care provider can assist with many personal care tasks or home cleaning chores without making your loved one feel like he is less of a person because he can no longer do it.
Finally, help your loved one find support groups that are made up of people who are living with either the same or similar conditions. Those support groups can be a great community to help him through the roughest patches.