Photo by Ian Noble on Unsplash
There’s no doubt this pandemic and being stuck in quarantine for three months has caused a lot of people’s mental health to go awry. However, for people who have to take care of people with this condition, it has to be a great challenge for them. What sort of challenges do they face as caregivers? What advice is needed for them to endure these day-to-day challenges? Here are five useful, encouraging tips every mental health caregiver could follow during this pandemic.
Teach Your Patient to Remain Calm
Although the quarantine order is said to be over and the majority of businesses have reopened, this contagious virus is still out there without a vaccination. This has caused a lot of stress and anxiety for people dealing with a mental illness such as depression. As the caregiver, your job is to deliver reassuring words of comfort to them. For those with memory-related illnesses such as dementia, you have to become accustomed to constantly telling them about this pandemic. It could also be good to try to explain what’s going on in the world in simpler terms.
Watch Your Words
When dealing with somebody diagnosed with a mental illness, you must be careful with what you say to them and how you say it. Phrases like “get over yourself” or using a word like “crazy” are not ideal speech to use with someone suffering. You should also not accuse this person of being lazy or seeking attention. Pretending to be depressed or having another similar mental illness isn’t the right away to get attention from other people.
Call on Someone for Help
During this time where we have to continue to socially distance ourselves, it’s more vital than ever we call on others for help. If the mental health patient is a family member, why not contact other family members for support? Do a conference meeting (Google Meet, Zoom, Skype, etc) once a week with your other family members to discuss your sick loved one’s care. If each family member takes a day to care for that person, the process of caregiving will be a little less stressful.
Look After Your Mental Health
Being a caregiver is truly a stressful, mentally draining job. That’s why while doing this job, you must protect your mental health too. You aren’t any benefit to that person if you become sick. So make an effort to engage in habits that keep you calm, like cooking or reading, etc. Take time to relax and take care of yourself first. You will be protecting your mental health by doing these things.
It is especially paramount to protect your mental health during this disease crisis. Stress during a pandemic could cause changes in sleep and eating patterns, difficulty concentrating, and increased use of alcohol. So please be sure to monitor your emotional health as well as your patient during these unprecedented times.
Be There for Your Patient as Best as You Can
As a mental health caregiver, you are going to experience a lot of emotional twists and turns in your duties. But the best way to take care of a mental health patient during this pandemic is to be there for them in any way you can. This advice may sound a little cliché, but it is still important when being a caregiver.
Take some moments to have some small conversations with them. Hug them and assure them that everything is going to be okay. This goes a long way in protecting them from themselves.
Taking care of a mental health patient, whether it is your relative or not, is truly a challenging task. It becomes even more challenging during these uncertain times. But if you consider these encouraging steps, you will be able to endure this ongoing stress. As we continue to endure COVID-19, please be sure to take care of your patient’s mental health and yours.
