The green aspects of physical life are easier to incorporate in one’s life as all it needs are a simple lifestyle changes that go a long way. We try to eat the right food, be responsible about our actions, we do our best to help and protect our loved ones.
Sometimes, especially if our job is to take care of others, we tend to think green about everything except our state of mind.
Many strive to live a greener and healthier life not just to do their bit towards the planet but also to have a better lifestyle.
Most would consider a lifestyle to be healthy if the physical health was taken care of but would forget that a truly healthy person would be someone who was healthy physically and mentally.
It is equally important to take care of the mental and emotional well-being to be able to say that you are living a green life. This is especially true if the person has a job that is emotionally draining.
Caregivers not only need to strive physically to take care of their patients or wards but also need to keep a mental balance to keep them emotionally balanced. It is easy to fall into emotional traps like guilt, resentment, anger, worry, loneliness, grief and defensiveness.
These emotions may come and go at different periods of their role but if one or more of them linger for long periods it could spell disaster for the caregiver’s mental health.
Such feelings would affect their attitude towards their ward. It is essential to understand what stems these different emotions and what the caregiver can do to be able to handle them better.
It is important for the caregiver to realize that they are not to be blamed for their ward’s condition and that they are doing all that they can to keep them in comfort.
At the same time it is essential to keep in touch with the world and not limit themselves to their care giving role.
It is normal to feel resentment not just towards other members in the house who are not doing enough to help them but at times also towards the person they are taking care of.
They may feel trapped and lonely with their responsibilities. It is thus important to surround oneself with positive attitude towards one’s responsibility and his/her own person too.
