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Caregiving for a loved one is complex, challenging, and ongoing. Stress can be less when family members take the time to discuss assumptions and expectations early on and revisit this periodically since caregiving is a dynamic situation. Various issues needing attention range from finding help and resources, family planning, financials, deciding roles each family member…
Today Geoff and Karen talk about how important it is to take care of yourself and recharge your own batteries in order to best provide caregiving for others. Their discussion looks at the various areas that need to be addressed in yourself such as physical body, mind, spirt, and personal growth.
Everyone feels it is difficult and challenging to bring up conversations when there is illness involved. We discuss having uncomfortable conversations with others experiencing medical crisis feels like taboo because we are not sure how it will be received or what the medical outcome will be. Even if we have permission to bring up the…
We discuss how to remain hopeful while swimming in a sea of medical uncertainty. A big help discussed is to reframe the conversation around hope when the odds are against you. Focus on celebrating the small victories in the day to day struggles.
Karen Rigamonti and I both share a passion for caregivers as we both have had to assume that role with loved ones in our families. We discuss how often the family caregiver is not valued as an integral part of the healing team and how well-meaning care providers may not include them in the conversation.…
I am a guy in the self-care space and I wrote a book called The Intentional Caregiver, which in large part is about self-care. And even though I wrote the book on self-care, I still find it hard to focus on taking care of myself. Well, if there was ever a time that self-care was…
When my wife Karen came home from the hospital, I had to bathe her. This was the most difficult thing I had to do. It was stressful because I had never done anything like that before. I also had to look at all her scars from her many surgeries. I could tell that my wife…
The funny thing about when I procrastinate, I am actually doing something. It’s just not the thing I think I should be doing. The fact is I am doing just about anything besides actual work. What I tend to do when I procrastinate is make more work for myself. For example, I will organize things…
As a caregiver for 20 years I realize the importance of self care. I also have been noticing that everyone should practice self care whether they are a caregiver or not. In addition, the majority of men don’t practice self care. I set off to research about self care for men on the internet and…