As a caretaker, you will undoubtedly experience an array of emotions when providing your loved one with day to day care. Some days, you will feel joy and appreciation while other days, you will feel a host of other emotions—emotions that are not necessarily welcome. Negative emotions such as frustration, overwhelm, sorrow, and—especially—guilt crop-up from time to time, and despite your best efforts to stay positive and focus on actions that improve your loved one situations, feelings of guilt may get the best of you.
Caretakers fall into the trap of allowing guilt to get the best of them for many reasons; however, caretakers often feel guilt simply because they attempt the impossible task of taking responsible for everything that happens to their loved ones. For instance, a caretaker may feel guilty because his or her loved one feels depressed because of a new living circumstance. While the caretaker’s loved one may feel depressed, the caretaker would be wrong to take on the responsible for managing the loved one’s emotional states. Caretakers can only do the best they can, and feelings of guilt will do nothing but prevent you from both acknowledging your efforts and focusing on the best possible solution.
Feelings of guilt sometimes arise when other family members get involved. If your loved one is a parent, aunt or uncle, then there’s always the likelihood that another relative—such as one of your siblings—will attempt to make you feel guilty. Should the interactions between you and your loved one’s escalate to a point of concern, then you may want to contact an Ohio elder attorney.
