A tipping point in any situation is that time when the situation changes dramatically. In caregiving, there are several types of tipping points that you might encounter. Knowing that there can be a solution after that is the important part.
Your Elder Is Experiencing Multiple Falls
Falling is a huge problem for aging family members. Once your senior experiences one fall, she’s far more likely to experience another. If she’s having multiple falls that could mean that she’s got some bigger health issues going on, not to mention the effects she has to manage due to the falls themselves.
She’s Having Cognitive Difficulties
For an elder who is developing dementia or other cognitive difficulties, there are big changes in store for you as a caregiver. Depending on where she is in that process, your elderly family member may need some more help than you realize just yet. As her cognitive difficulties increase, so too do her needs.
Your Senior Is Wandering
Cognitive changes can bring about a number of problems and symptoms, but one of the most challenging could be wandering. This happens when your senior is supposed to be in one place, but decides to leave. She may not even be aware of exactly where she’s going. If she’s on her own, she’s far more likely to wind up lost and alone.
Her Care Needs Are Much Bigger than They Were
Even without dementia, your senior’s needs can gradually become more complicated than you expected them to become. If your health is changing, too, then you could find yourself unable to provide the help that you expected to be able to provide. As those care needs grow, it’s difficult to keep up with them and that can be a big problem.
Your Needs Have Been Ignored for too Long
If you’ve been neglecting your own needs for a large part of your caregiving journey, you may find yourself in a bit of a conundrum. Ignoring yourself and your own needs shortens your time as a caregiver. You can’t keep being a caregiver when you’re ignoring what keeps you going.
These tipping points may be ones in which you need to re-evaluate being a caregiver or you might need to determine if you need more help. Elder care providers can bring you the help that you need in order to keep on giving care to your elderly family member as you navigate beyond that tipping point.
