VNA Home Healthcare / VNA Personal Services / VNA Hospice

Getting the right kind of help, when we need it, can be a real challenge.

First, recognizing when you need help, particularly when you’re in a familiar situation, isn’t that easy to do. Caregivers are often highly functioning multi-taskers who don’t even know they’re exhausted. Sometimes the care they’re providing has escalated so slowly and steadily, a caregiver might not even notice the greater demands on their time and energy. Other times, the demands on a caregiver change so suddenly, the caregiver has little time to even consider the impact on their own physical, emotional, psychological, and sociological well-being.

Time to exercise, to rest, to spend with friends and have fun is a requirement when it comes to the well-being of almost all people, but it's especially important for caregivers.

Taking the time to gain the perspective you need so that you can identify when you need help is important. Determining the kind of help you need is essential.

Think of what might happen if you don’t get help. If you don’t get help before you wind up hurt or exhausted, or worse, who will be there to take care of your loved one at all? If you wind up hurt, you need twice the help you needed before.

Asking for help, whether discussing it with your own healthcare provider, your family, or exploring a service like the VNA, can help you determine your needs and prevent a crisis. Finding out more about new technologies that can provide you with some relief and peace of mind when you can't be there for someone you care about can also help.