Christian Dockter joins us on the Caregiving Circus on the Caregiver Postcast Network.  Christian was only 17 when his father and he switched roles.  One day a 17 year old teenager, the next day a primary caregiver.  Join Marti Hannon and Jackie Schwabe as they interview this fantastic young man as he tells us about his father's traumatic brain injury and how he went from angry, anxious and sad to a mission based caregiver. Chrisitian says when his mindset changed, so did his life.

Lynette Whiteman, who cares for her mom, joins us to share how she manages her personal caregiving responsibilities and her work helping family caregivers.

Lynette blogs about her caregiving experiences on CareGiving.com and recently launched a podcast, On the Frontlines of Caregiving.

Empowered Family Caregiver -EFC  Episode 4:  How to Manage Caregiver Guilt with Tandy Elisala 

In this episode, we are talking about why caregiver guilt happens, the three ways guilt creeps into our lives and 7 tips to manage the guilt gremlins so you can have more peace. 

WHY guilt happens? Guilt happens when we start 'should'ing on ourselves. When we have feelings we don't think we should have. There are 4 ways guilt happens:  Resentment, caree health changes, childhood/rearing issues, caregiver health changes

3 WAYS guilt manifests: 

1. Asking questions

2. Doubting your decisions

3. Doubting your feelings

7 Tips to Manage Guilt When It Creeps Up: 

1. Acknowledge 

2. Change expectations

3. Ask for help

4. Self compassion

5. Self care

6. Embrace 

7. Recognize/accept 

BONUS TIP: How to balance the balls that matter. This analogy will help you think differently about boundaries and guilt. 

Follow/connect with our facebook page @EmpoweredFamilyCaregiver, where we continue the conversation. 

I invite you to join my private FB group @ www.facebook.com/groups/EmpoweredFamilyCaregiver

AJ Bryant, founder of Achieving I’m-Possibilities, and author of The Revocation, a legal thriller, and upcoming book, Self-Conservation, the Art of Self-Care tells us how her journey led to her love for words and a focus on Self-Conservation.  Join us as AJ gives us some tips on how to be healthier caregivers.  

Bio Snippet:  

            In kindergarten, I was terrified to learn to read .... how does someone terrified to read write two books?  What does this have to do with caregiving?  

Learn more about AJ at http://caregivingcircus.com/ajbryant

Geri Hall, PhD, ARNP, FAAN, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, will join Sharon Hall to how to manage when a caree lives with a family unit which includes children. Sharon cares for her husband, diagnosed with FTD in the fall of 2015, and moderates our weekly FTD chat on CareGiving.com. You can call into the live 30-minute show with your questions or email them to ftdpodcastquestions @ yahoo.com prior to the show.

CareGiving.com hosts a chat for those who care for a family member with FTD every Monday at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. MT, 4 p.m. PT).

About Dr. Hall

Geri Hall, an internationally-recognized advanced practice nurse who holds a nursing doctorate, is widely respected for her research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. She developed the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold Model, a framework for planning care of dementia patients and measuring outcomes by studying the presence or absence of behavior symptoms such as agitation and depression. The model is widely by used by professionals in the United States, Australia and South Korea.

How do we give our carees (and ourselves) peace at end of life? Dr. Samuel Harrington, author of a new book, At Peace: Choosing a Good Death After a Long Life, joins us to guide us toward a peaceful end.

Most people say they would like to die quietly at home. But overly aggressive medical advice, coupled with an unrealistic sense of invincibility, results in the majority of elderly patients misguidedly dying in institutions while undergoing painful procedures, instead of having a better and more peaceful death they desired.

AT PEACE outlines specific active and passive steps that older patients and their health care proxies can take to insure loved ones pass their last days comfortably at home and/or in hospice, when further aggressive care is inappropriate.

Through Dr. Harrington's own experience with his parents and patients, he describes the terminal patterns of the six most common chronic diseases; how to recognize a terminal diagnosis even when the doctor is not clear about it; how to have the hard conversation about end-of-life wishes; how to minimize painful treatments and when to seek hospice care. The current estimated U.S. senior population 65 and older is well over fifty million strong. AT PEACE is a relevant and necessary resource for families across the board. Samuel Harrington, MD, a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Wisconsin Medical School, concentrated his practice at Sibley Memorial Hospital. His work as Sibley's patient safety officer representative to the Johns Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees and his service on the board of a nonprofit hospice in Washington D.C. informed his passion for helping aged patients make appropriate end-of-life decisions.

Marti Hannon from World Changer Consulting and Jackie Ann Schwabe, the Reluctant Ringmaster, from the Caregiving Circus will have a special guest this week from White Lie Living. Meet Roberto A. DiPietrantonio, a self proclaimed travler and former family caregiver as he gives us his unique perspective on self care.

The unique component of their discussion with be the point of view of each host. Marti works mostly with caregivers that are taking care of someone with dementia and Jackie mostly interacts with her autistic child. Stay tuned as we work through what it means to go through the journey in a healthy and happy way.

Visit World Changer Consulting at https://www.worldchangerconsulting.com/

Please visit our patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jackieschwabe - any support is appreciated.

Welcome to the Empowered Family Caregiver Podcast with Tandy Elisala

Episode 3: How to Prioritize Self-Care Even When You Don't Have Time

Self-care is important because:

1.      The busier you are, the more important self-care becomes. ?Are you among these caregiver statistics? 

2.     CHRONIC Stress impacts our immune system - Listen in to see if you are affected by one of these 15 things.

How to prioritize self-care even when you don’t have time

1.    Evaluate these 3 technology time suckers

2. Make self-care non-negotiable. Hear how I did this in my CAR. 

3.  Evaluate your tolerance list for energy-draining areas. 

Connect with us @ www.facebook.com/EmpoweredFamilyCaregiver, to continue the conversation. 

I invite you to join my private FB group @ www.facebook.com/groups/EmpoweredFamilyCaregiver

Subscribe to this podcast and leave a review! If you find value in this podcast and the message we’re trying to spread at Empowered Family Caregiver, then click the subscribe button and share. 

Get your FREE Never Be Overwhelmed Again: Quick-Start Guide to Empowerment and Calm here: http://bit.ly/byeoverwhelm

Cynthia Thompson began caring for her husband six years ago. With the help of other family caregivers, she is currently in the process of compiling submitted journey's from dementia caregivers, in their own words, into a book. This book is intended to support other caregivers as well as to help family members, friends, co-workers and employers understand the journey of a dementia caregiver.

As opposed to a book written by one person's experiences, we are confident anyone who reads this book will find valuable information and will be able to relate to numerous submissions and will help others understand the journey of the caregivers.

The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2018 and the book will be available June 1, 2018. To submit your story, visit www.journeypublish.com.

Marti Hannon from World Changer Consulting and Jackie Ann Schwabe, the Reluctant Ringmaster, from the Caregiving Circus continue their six part series on the Six Stages to a Meaningful Journey.  The ladies will describe the stage, discuss the key coping strategies, stumbles, and steadies of the stage.  Marti will continue telling her personal journey as it presents itself in stage 3.  

The unique component of their discussion with be the point of view of each host.  Marti works mostly with caregivers that are taking care of someone with dementia and Jackie mostly interacts with her autistic child.  Stay tuned as we work through what it means to go through the journey in a healthy and happy way.  

Visit World Changer Consulting at https://www.worldchangerconsulting.com/

Please visit our patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jackieschwabe - any support is appreciated.  

The Caregiving Years, Six Stages to a Meaningful Journey by Denise M. Brown