How to Deal with Guilt as a Caregiver

By Marina Pink | September 18, 2018 |

Avoiding anything about feelings of guilt causes them to grow bigger and bigger. Eventually, even if you’ve never had a genuine reason to feel guilty, you’re going to be lugging around an enormous bag of guilt that you could have just dropped.

Call it by its Name

If you’re calling guilt anything but what it is, you’re allowing it to hide. In order to flush it out and to get to the bottom of why you’re feeling the way that you are, you have to acknowledge that you’re feeling guilty and dig a little bit. Being honest about the guilt is the very first step and you might find it to be the most difficult one.

Look at Why You Feel Guilt

So why are you feeling guilty at all? If you’re neglecting yourself or feel as if you can’t keep up with everything that your senior needs, you may find that contributing to your feelings. It’s not always easy to find the layers of reasons behind guilt. It might be because other people are projecting their expectations on you. Or maybe you know you need help, but you’re finding that difficult to accept. There are a lot of possible contributing factors.

Lose Comparisons

One of the biggest culprits bringing guilt is comparing yourself to other people. This can crop up in a lot of ways. You might see someone who isn’t a caregiver and mourn for the loss of your carefree days, then feel guilty for feeling that way. Or you might feel as if you’re just not living up to what it means to be a caregiver at all. No matter what the comparison is, it will rarely help you to feel any better about yourself or your situation.

Find the Coping Mechanisms that Work for You

Everyone has different coping mechanisms and that’s to be expected. You might find that journaling helps you to work through your guilty feelings, while another caregiver finds talking to a friend to be most helpful. Try a variety of different positive coping mechanisms to determine which ones are effective and then make sure you try those the next time guilt jumps out at you to derail your day.

If you’re finding that you still experience guilt more than you want to, there may be something that you’re overlooking. Working with a counselor can help you to get to the bottom of that recurring guilt so that you can get rid of it for good. It doesn’t do anything for you on your caregiving journey and is better off far away from you.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering caregivers in Pasadena, CA please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today (888) 989-7388

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Marina Pink

Owner at Home Care Help

Marina Pink is the Owner at Home Care Help. Home Care Help is an innovator in providing services in a caring and professional manner. We have an exceptional history, spanning twenty-three years, of providing care to people in moments that matter most. It is our utmost priority to address every need in a timely manner; and, it is our goal, above all else, to give the level of support that enables our residents to have as much independence as possible with care and respect.