There may come a time in your life where you are required to offer someone help with their personal care. This could be as a result of a job that you have in a senior living facility or because you’re assisting a loved one who’s been hurt or is suffering from the effects of aging. Whatever the situation is, most people would prefer to be able to take care of these kinds of things on their own. So, when they need help, it can be a big hit to their pride. Luckily, as someone offering them this type of care, there are things that you can do to help make this less awkward, uncomfortable, or even humiliating.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for helping someone maintain their dignity while offering them personal care.
Ask Them About Their Preferences
Before you just go about doing all of the tasks for the person you’re caring for, it’s wise to ask them what their preferences are if they’re in a situation where they can express these preferences to you.
Some people might be able to take care of certain tasks on their own or just need sporadic assistance with things like shaving or other sensitive tasks. Some might want to ask for your help and others might want you to just jump in and help them as you see fit. And still others might want things done or taken care of in a very specific way or environment. By knowing that they want and trying your best to accommodate them, you can help them maintain a bit of control and dignity.
Be Careful With Your Body Language
Oftentimes, the personal care that you’ll be offering to someone will require you to see sensitive parts of their body and be around fluids or smells that most people don’t want to share with other people. This can be embarrassing for the person that you’re caring for, especially if they can obviously see that you’re disgusted or uncomfortable.
While you might be feeling these things inside of yourself, helping someone maintain their dignity means being careful with your body language when these tasks are taking place. Work on being open with your posture and keeping your face neutral, despite what might be going on.
Try To Be As Normal As Possible
When you’re caring for someone, you’ll be offering them all sorts of care, from the basics to the more intimate. As you switch between these types of tasks, most people find it to be most comfortable if you go about things as normally as possible. As you avoid being self-conscious, it will help the person you’re caring for be less self-conscious as well. This will help them to feel less shame and allow them to maintain their dignity. So, try to speak to them normally, maintain a sense of humor, and be as accommodating as possible when you can.
If you want to make sure that the person that you’re caring for is able to maintain as much dignity as possible while allowing you to offer personal care to them, consider implementing some of the tips mentioned above as you do your work.