Long-time senior caregivers can tell you that providing senior care can often be very difficult and emotionally taxing. Finding a balance between work and home life is a constant struggle, since becoming emotionally involved in a client’s life is necessary but makes the job difficult to take a break from. Caregivers have to deal with another person’s physical, emotional and medical problems, work directly with their client’s family and stay positive and in charge while taking care of tough situations. In short, caregiving is not an easy job. That’s why it’s so important for caregivers to pay attention to their own needs and keep a healthy frame of mind. The new year is a time for making changes, so if you’re an at-home senior care provider who’s becoming stressed or upset with the job, make one of these New Year’s resolutions for yourself:

Get support
Resolve that you’ll take care of yourself by getting support from family, friends, a counselor or even a support group whenever you become overwhelmed with the job this year. You don’t have to do it alone!

Take a break
Promise you’ll take a break any time you begin to feel stressed – your emotional health matters!

Be thankful
Remind yourself to be thankful every day for what you do have. This will hopefully put some of the negative days into perspective.

Ask for help
You have a circle of supportive friends and family that want to take tasks off your plate, so promise yourself that you’ll start letting them!