Caregivers Can Benefit from Occupational Therapy Services
The caregiving role is entered into with no instruction manual. There is no “convenient” time for it to happen and you can not “put it on hold” until you are ready. For some caregivers, things change overnight after a loved one has a sudden illness or injury. For some caregivers, you have “seen the writing on the wall” for some time but now you are standing face to face with the reality that something must be done to help your loved one. And then there are the longtime caregivers who have been providing care for a while but now “your system” is no longer working. So what do you do?
Standing face to face with a mountain of caregiving responsibilities can leave you feeling very overwhelmed. The days start over everyday with dozens of tasks that must be done. You are showing up, struggling, but making it work but you also feeling depleted, lost and alone. But you can move away from these feelings into a positive reality that you can help create by focusing your attention on learning, changing and doing things that can bring you closer to a feeling of hope. Occupational Therapy can help!
But what is Occupational Therapy (OT)? It is the profession that addresses weaknesses, injuries and environmental obstacles that prevent individuals and their caregivers from performing those dozens of tasks that must be performed daily. Those dozen of tasks are called Occupations, simple. Occupations are the things you want to do, need to do and are expected to do in your life daily. Occupational Therapists are the professionals who are trained to teach patients and their caregivers to perform occupations efficiently and safely.
Occupation Difficulties that OT Can Address In The Home Setting:
• Dressing
• Toileting
• Feeding
• Grooming
• Bed Mobility
• Bed and Wheelchair Positioning
• Bathing
• Home Safety
• Home Modifications
• Transfers
• The list can go on….
So caregivers, if you are assisting with these tasks because your loved one can no longer participate in these tasks independently and you are having difficulty assisting them, seek help. If you want to see things improve in any of these areas, seek help. If you are concerned about injuring yourself, injury to your loved one, or you just don’t know how to help, seek help —Occupational Therapy services.
You can move away from struggling and take action to move toward progress by requesting OT services. Occupational Therapy can help you to identify your problems areas and develop realistic goals that can be achieved. OT can help you learn to do those dozens of tasks with less effort, less time, less stress and safely. This can free you up to do other things that are important in your life. Ask your doctor for an order for Occupational Therapy services.
Consuela Marshall, Occupational Therapist
Today’s blog is inspired by a caregiver question to the call-in line of Caregivers Finding A Foothold podcast. To hear questions and other challenges from caregivers in our community, please check out the website FindingAFoothold.com, Episode 7: Caregivers Can Benefit From Occupational Therapy Services.
If you have a question, please call and allow this community to share hope and tips you can use. Your question may inspire our next blog! Please subscribe to the Caregivers Finding A Foothold podcast.
Disclaimer: The podcast and blog are intended to provide basic information so that you can become a more informed caregiver. The information presented is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not meant to serve as medical advice or replace consultation with any health care providers you regularly engage with. Transmission or receipt of any of this information is not intended to, and does not, create a therapist-patient relationship. This information is not provided in the course of a therapist-patient relationship and is not intended to constitute medical advice or to substitute for obtaining medical advice from a physician or therapist licensed in the state where your family may reside. We encourage everyone to consult with your physician or therapist to see if they are appropriate and safe for you.