Managing Holiday Stress with the Help of Home Care

The Christmas holiday season can be a magical time but for homecare agencies, carers, and their families, it can also be overwhelming.

The pressure to keep traditions and aim for an unrealistic picture of perfection can take its toll, potentially leading to stress and carer burnout.

Here, we look at ways to minimise some of that stress and support mental wellbeing during the holidays, for home carers and the families they serve.

Why Stress Peaks in December

Stress is much more common in December, because we tend to have unrealistically high expectations to create the perfect meal, buy perfect gifts, and have perfect days.

Added into the mix, we worry about the cost of festive cheer and having to cope with increased care needs for older adults during the winter.

Running a home care agency at this time has some unique challenges. Balancing carer’s schedules with their (inevitable) holiday requests and facing the added emotional burden of supporting care clients during a potentially lonely time.

Stress Reduction Techniques for Homecare Agencies and Carers

Homecare agencies and carers could benefit from some stress reduction techniques suggested here.

Tips for Agencies:

1. Flexible Scheduling: If you already have homecare software in your agency, use it to streamline holiday shifts and schedule carer requests for leave.

2. Clear Communication: Set clear expectations with care clients and their families about holiday availability and care support.

Techniques for Carers:

1. Time Management: Work smarter, not harder. Prioritise tasks using scheduling tools and concentrate on what will make a difference. Leave least important tasks to last and accept you won’t have time to do everything.

2. Mindfulness Practices: Try short, deep breathing exercises, yoga or mindfulness meditation to reduce stress and anxiety. Mindfulness apps like Headspace and Calm can be useful to set daily reminders.

3. Lean on Tech: Make use of homecare tech to set important reminders and save your carers at least 20 minutes daily admin time.

4. Stay active: Regular exercise can reduce emotional intensity, clear unhelpful thoughts and help you deal more calmly with problems.

5. Avoid unhealthy habits: Don’t rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine as stress relievers. They may provide temporary relief but long term, they won’t solve your problems - they’ll only create new ones!

Tackling Carer Burnout

Carer burnout is common due to the nature of the role, but at this time of year, keep an eye on typical signs of carer burnout, such as exhaustion, irritability, detachment, and reduced performance.

Software can help keep an eye on carer’s hours to avoid excessive overtime and automate repetitive tasks to reduce admin overload.

Agencies can also support care teams by creating wellness programmes or providing access to mental health resources and encouraging carers to take all holidays they’re entitled to.

The Importance of Self-Care for Everyone

Self-Care for Carers:

• Schedule quality "me-time" a couple of nights a week (even during busy periods). Make time for socialising, relaxation or exercise.
• Practice daily gratitude and celebrate small wins. Try writing down three things that went well, or what you’re grateful for at the end of each day.

Encouraging Clients’ Self-Care:

• Help your clients to maintain daily routines and encourage them to try creative activities that will improve their mental wellbeing, such as painting, drawing or listening to music.

Recognising Unhelpful Thinking Patterns

At stressful times, negative and unhelpful thoughts come to mind more often and can make us feel even worse. Perfectionism, catastrophising, or guilt about not doing “enough” are all habits formed over time and can be hard to break.

5 Reframing Techniques:

Stepping back and looking at the bigger picture to reframe unhelpful thoughts can be a game changer.

• 1. Focus on “good enough” rather than perfect.
• 2. Mentally step back from unhelpful thoughts and they’ll start to lose their power.
• 3. Focus on what you’re doing right now in the moment. Stand up to the “bullying” thought and don’t be bossed about by it.
• 4. Give yourself a break. We’d never say nasty or negative things to a friend or family member, so why say them to ourselves?
• 5. Look at the situation differently. If it was a friend’s problem, what advice would you give them? What would they do in that situation?

Domiciliary Care’s Role in Mental Wellbeing

Providing domiciliary care at this challenging time of year could help reduce loneliness for your care clients and give them much needed emotional support. It can offer friends and families peace of mind, knowing their loved ones are being well cared for.

Homecare software can have a role to play in enhancing the quality of care. For example, by tracking and delivering personalised care plans to meet care clients' emotional and physical needs. Carers will also have the information they need at their fingertips to easily provide consistent and compassionate person-centred care.

The Role of Agencies in Supporting Mental Health

Homecare agencies have an important role to play in supporting and promoting mental health amongst care staff. If you’re not doing this already, why not offer specialist training on stress management and mental health first aid? Or provide confidential support services or access to counselling for staff who need it.

Your care clients’ mental wellbeing is equally important. Encourage social interaction with your carers, either in-person or virtually. Remind your carers to look out for signs of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or holiday-related depression, such as fatigue, irritability, changes in sleep patterns and weight loss.

Happy Christmas!

Agencies who invest in tools and strategies to better support carers and care clients may find holiday stress is managed more easily.

If you’re a carer, take time for yourself and remember you’re making a difference.

As a family member or friend reading this, think about how homecare could lighten the load for your loved one, and make this festive season more enjoyable for everyone.

Since 2000, Tagtronics have supported hundreds of homecare agencies to minimise holiday stress. Contact us for more info.