Have you helped your loved one move to a senior living or assisted living community only to find that in the midst of experiencing relief that your loved one is being cared for and is safe, you also have intense feelings of guilt and shame?
You’re not alone. Many caregivers struggle with guilt and shame after moving older loved ones into a senior living community. Perhaps you feel that you’ve let your older loved one down, like you’re not being a dutiful spouse, daughter, or son. This can lead to emotional distress and discontent.
To help you navigate the emotionally turbulent waters of caregiver guilt and shame, I’ve prepared 5 strategies for helping you to move through guilt and shame when helping your older loved one adjust to senior living.
Here’s a peek into this episode:
- [03:22] Why do we experience guilt and shame when helping older loved one’s move into assisted living?
- [06:11] Strategy #1: Be clear about your boundaries and share them
- [08:37] Strategy #2: Be a friend to yourself
- [09:30] Strategy #3: Know that you’re not alone
- [10:06] Strategy #4: Focus on positive aspects of your relationship
- [11:23] Strategy #5: Practice mindfulness
Links mentioned in this episode:
Dr. Regina Koepp is a board certified clinical psychologist, clinical geropsychologist, and founder and CEO of the Center for Mental Health & Aging: the “go to” place for mental health and aging. Dr. Koepp is a sought after speaker on the topics of mental health and aging, caregiving, ageism, resilience, intimacy in the context of life altering Illness, and dementia and sexual expression. Dr. Koepp is on a mission to ensure mental health and belonging for older adults, because every person at every age is worthy of healing, transformation, and love. Learn more about Dr. Regina Koepp here.
Regina Koepp, PsyD, ABPP
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