Taking care of an elderly relative can be a huge and frustrating task for anyone. While many children consider placing their elderly parents into a nursing home or another full-time care facility, it’s not an option for some individuals. They make the choice to bring their parent home and devote time to caring for their elderly relative. If you are in this situation, there are some things you can do for yourself to make it less stressful. Here are five ways to make elder home care more manageable.

Taking over the responsibility of care for your elderly relative can put a financial strain on your own budget. One way to manage the costs is to look for ways to get more benefits for your relative’s costly prescription medicines, treatments, and doctor visits. Investigate the Medicare benefits, and make sure your relative is getting the right amount of Social Security paid each month. Many elderly people also get additional monthly benefits from pensions, veteran status, or disability, so be sure your relative’s payments are accurate to help cover the rising costs of being a caretaker.

Next, it’s important to get help from other family members after you begin taking on this responsibility. If you’re taking care of a parent and you have siblings, make sure all of the children are doing their part. When one brother or sister takes on all of the tasks of a caretaker, it can be lonely and stressful. Set up a schedule where you rotate who takes your parent to the doctor or to other places like the hairdresser. If a sibling lives out of town, ask about financial support instead.

For some parts of this job, you’ll need the help of a professional healthcare staffing. Elderly people usually have more specific healthcare needs as they age, so you may need to hire someone to do in-home healthcare visits periodically. It’s common for patients to need the services of a physical therapist, injection treatment, or respiratory therapy. Look for qualified individuals with degrees from top medical programs. There, students learn about the challenges facing graduates of a respiratory therapist school, like elder care and family issues.

Throughout the years or months that you are responsible for being your relative’s caretaker, don’t forget to take time to talk about it with someone. This type of job can be heart-breaking and thankless. Sometimes, it helps to get your feelings out with your relative’s medical care staff. They can even refer you to someone, like a counselor or social worker if you need more support for your own stresses and feelings during this time period.

The last bit of advice is to stay connected to your own social life and keep your elderly relative in touch with the rest of your family. Continuing to go out and spending time with others can be beneficial to both of you. If they need mobility help, consider buying a portable mobility scooter for your elder, that will boost their self-confidence and let them move independently.

The daunting responsibility of taking care of your aging relative at your home can be overwhelming. If you’re committed to the task, take advantage of the resources and the services of others to get through this difficult time.