A “caretaker” can mean many things. Perhaps it’s someone who is a nurse and takes care of others all day, someone caring for a disabled child or family member, or someone who shows compassion through endless volunteering. A caretaker could even be a friend who is caring for a loved one who is chronically sick or dying — in this case, it’s incredibly draining and they will need tons of support.
If you’re not a caretaker yourself, it may be hard to understand how to support people who are in these special types of roles. Because caretakers spend so much of their own energy caring for others, they often put their own emotional well-being on the back burner.
Taking the time to help others and be part of a supportive community is a great way to improve your own personal growth. So if you have friends or family members who are caretakers, it provides the ideal opportunity for you to step up and show your support through these four ways:
Urge them to embrace a little self-care
When someone is so busy caring for others, they often forget to take care of themselves. But in reality, you have to care for yourself before you can properly care for others — it’s like putting the oxygen mask on yourself before your kids’ on an airplane in case of emergency.
Encourage your friend to take some time out of their hectic, draining schedule for self-care, whether this is a walk in the park, yoga class, bubble bath, or trip to get their nails done. If you really wanna encourage a sis to spoil themselves, give them a gift card to the local spa or nail shop. This way, they’ll have no choice but to enjoy some self-care and relaxation.
Shoot them a “no response needed” text message
Feeling grateful for your friend? Do you want to let them know you admire their empathy and strength? Sometimes all it takes to share this is a text message. But long-winded texts that look like miniature essays can stress people out, so start the message off with “this message requires no response, I just wanted to tell you…” This will certainly fill your friends’ proverbial cup and will make their day.
Knowing that they have a good friend in their corner can make a huge difference. Sending encouraging and thoughtful messages, and even a funny meme here and there, is an easy way to show the caregiver in your life that they are loved.
Offer to help them with errands
Caregivers are extra prone to burnout, especially if they are working full-time or attending school all while caring for others. Managing mundane weekly tasks like grocery shopping, walking their dog, or returning library books can feel overwhelming to someone who is experiencing burnout. Offer to take one of these errands off of their hands, and if they say “no”, insist on it! If you insist on helping out, eventually, they will take you up on the offer. Caregivers are so selfless, which makes them hesitant to accept help from others when needed as they don’t want to be a burden.
If you’re wanting to take a more hands-off approach, consider cooking a homemade meal for them and leaving it on their doorstep. Or ordering them a hot meal for dinner through a food delivery app on an extra difficult day. Gifting food is always a superb way to make someone feel comfortable and cared for.
Try to be extra understanding
Successful and empowered women always strive to be understanding and supportive to others within the sisterhood. If you’re a friend of a caregiver, remember that they’re dealing with a difficult situation so be conscious not to put extra expectations on them or any unnecessary demands. Attending a girl’s night out with you might seem trivial compared to what is going on in their life, behind closed doors. So, if they need to cancel a plan or two in order to recharge and have some alone time, let them do so and don’t hold it against them.
Unsolicited advice is a caregiver’s worst nightmare — even if you think you have an opinion that they absolutely need to hear, try to keep it to yourself. If you’re not a caregiver yourself, you likely don’t have a full grasp on the situation that they are dealing with. For this reason, it’s your job to support your friend instead of trying to influence their actions by giving them advice they didn’t ask for. But if your caregiver friend does ask for advice, it’s perfectly okay to share your opinions and ideas.
In almost every case, caregivers look to their friends for emotional support and not advice.
And if you’re looking to take your self-care journey to the next level, we have just the thing for you. Our SELF-ish Retreat in June is the perfect opportunity to focus on your mind, body, soul, and emotions with the guidance of amazing coaches and practitioners.
At the retreat, you’ll learn how to release the stresses of life and start creating the kind of life you desire. You’ll have the chance to connect with other women on a similar journey and leave feeling empowered and inspired.
So if you’re ready to invest in yourself and become the best version of yourself, sign up for our retreat today.
