Visory Health Caregiver Series: Self-Care and Your Caregiver Bill of Rights

Stress is a natural component of caregiving. Whether you experience stress from emotional highs and lows, stress from financial strain, stress from time constraints, stress from family and work obligations, or stress from worry about your loved one’s health and well-being, stress is a constant for the caregiving community.

As a caregiver, you have rights and responsibilities regarding the loved ones you provide for, but the right to care for yourself can often get overlooked. In this blog, we will discuss caregiving and your Caregiver Bill of Rights, that can help you navigate caregiver stress to help optimize your health. Self-care for the caregiver can help minimize stress and burnout, ensuring you can provide the best for yourself and those in your care.

The Caregiver Bill of Rights is a partnership between you and yourself and serves as a reminder to take care of yourself. The Caregiver Bill of Rights gives you, the caregiver, permission to care for yourself, while caring for a loved-one in need.

Caregiver Bill of Rights:

You have the Right to: Care for Yourself While Caring for Others

Prioritize your health
Get regular health check-ups
Fill your prescriptions and take your medications as prescribed
Balance your life: exercise, eat right, get proper sleep and rest
Take time to relax

If you don’t take care of yourself, it’s more difficult to take care of others. Practicing self-care is one of the best ways to ensure you can provide care for others.

You have the Right to: Love and Be Loved

Have relationships and social support outside of caregiving

Maintaining current relationships and social support from friends and family is important to your emotional well-being. It’s important to maintain your social well-being as a caregiver.

You have the Right to: Set Boundaries and Expectations

Not to be perfect; perfection is never attainable
Be treated with dignity and respect
Not be taken for granted
Know your limits and communicate those limits

Setting boundaries and expectations increases open communication and decreases frustrations. Caregiver boundaries can be difficult to set, but it’s an essential part of maintaining your own well-being.

You have the Right to: Self-Identity and Support

Maintain a circle of friends and family
Feel encouragement for your caregiving responsibilities
Set aside time for yourself, your interests, your hobbies
Focus on your professional, social, and spiritual needs

It is important to preserve who you are outside of caregiving.

You have the Right to: Ask for Help When Needed

Get respite care; step away and take a break
Elicit family or friends to assist
Prioritize and delegate tasks you are unable to complete

Caregiving is often a demanding job, and it’s not unusual to need assistance at some point along this journey.

You have the Right to: Express Your Feelings

Say No when you can no longer say Yes
Feel a wide variety of emotions and fully share those feelings
Be free from guilt and manipulation from not being able to “do it all.” It’s ok to do what you can
Take pride in your accomplishments and all the work you are doing

As a caregiver, its ok to express both positive and negative feelings.

You have the Right to: Be Happy, Healthy, and Whole

Maintain a positive attitude even when things don’t go as planned
Take some time each day for yourself
Expect the unexpected and accept that you can’t control all caregiver scenarios
Be grateful for the time you have with your loved one and your ability to improve their quality of life

Caregiving stress can take a toll on the health and well-being of caregivers. The Caregiver Bill of Rights provides some simple reminders that it’s ok to prioritize your self-care, even when caring for a loved one.

How Visory Health Is Committed To Supporting Our Caregivers

At Visory Health, we see you and we hear you! We understand our Visory Caregiving Community and want to support your journey in caring for yourself and loved one. Decrease your stress, continue to get regular healthcare check-ups, and take your medication as prescribed to help maintain your health.

At Visory Health, we can help ease financial strain with our Visory Health Discount Prescription Card for up to 80% savings on 10,000 prescription medications.

Stay Healthy, Stay Visory!