As human beings, we expect our children to grow up and leave home, go start their own lives; we also expect to grow old with our spouses, then die of old age. We don’t expect that diseases like cancer or freak accidents will take our children and spouses way too early from us. 

• Treatments no longer working
• Disease is too advanced, doctors say there is no use of curative treatments , they are offering palliative care...
• You are shocked, numb and saddened by this sudden turn of events. You feel like you are on another planet, maybe you are crying.

But losing people dear to us is part of the human experience. Life doesn't follow our structure, rules or wishes, there is no should or shouldn’t be happening in life.

Grief does not only happen after death. Grief can start the moment your loved one receives a bad prognosis, long before death, even though it isn’t understood or acknowledged. 

What we don’t realize is that even though our loved ones are here now, and we still have the opportunity to spend time with them, we are grieving for what we are about to lose. 

In today's episode, Emily Thiroux Threatt shares her story of losing not one but two spouses. How she was able to pull herself from the dark hole, turned her grief and experience to helping others who are grieving.
 
Resources mentioned on the show:

Emily Thiroux Threatt's Website | Instagram| Podcast | Facebook | YouTube

Grab our FREE GUIDE on how to get started as a spousal caregiver. 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

 As human beings, we expect our children to grow up and leave home, go start their own lives; we also expect to grow old with our spouses, then die of old age. We don’t expect that diseases like cancer or freak accidents will take our children and spouses way too early from us. 

• Treatments no longer working
• Disease is too advanced, doctors say there is no use of curative treatments , they are offering palliative care...
• You are shocked, numb and saddened by this sudden turn of events. You feel like you are on another planet, maybe you are crying.

But losing people dear to us is part of the human experience. Life doesn't follow our structure, rules or wishes, there is no should or shouldn’t be happening in life.

Grief does not only happen after death. Grief can start the moment your loved one receives a bad prognosis, long before death, even though it isn’t understood or acknowledged. 

What we don’t realize is that even though our loved ones are here now, and we still have the opportunity to spend time with them, we are grieving for what we are about to lose. 

In today's episode, Emily Thiroux Threatt shares her story of losing not one but two spouses. How she was able to pull herself from the dark hole, turned her grief and experience to helping others who are grieving.
 
Resources mentioned on the show:

Emily Thiroux Threatt's Website | Instagram 

Grab our FREE GUIDE on how to get started as a spousal caregiver. 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

When caring for a spouse, the whole experience can be a rollercoaster of emotions, from sadness, anger, grief, frustration, to happiness, some joy, laughter, before feeling guilty and then starting all over.

All those stories that arise from the thoughts and emotions surrounding the caregiving experience can cause unnecessary suffering, if not analyzed for what it is.

In this short episode, I give you examples of clean vs unclean pain and how to go about each of them.

Resources:

Download our FREE GUIDE on how to get started as a caregiver to your spousal. 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

 You have been struggling with fatigue for a while now, but you don’t have the courage to even sit down and admit how you feel. 

You are struggling with saying no to the various tasks, drive around the town running errands because your spouse feels uncomfortable driving at the moment, walking the dog, doing household chores etc. 

You get very tired at times, basically the whole ordeal has taken a toll on you. You wonder when your spouse will get better, because you are tired of doing everything; sometimes you wonder if all of this will ever end.  You are just one person, a human doing all the above, you are susceptible to burnout.

On today's episode, Dr. Kate Steiner, PhD a Burnout talks to us about burn out and burn out recovery.

Useful resources:

Dr. Kate Steiner's Website | Instagram | Burnout Recovery Guide 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

 Part of learning to observe our thoughts is to help us be intentional with our actions. It seems like an uphill task, because we were not taught to do this, but once you learn this little skill, your life will never be the same. 

Allow yourself to be annoyed, not make it mean anything about you. You can allow the anger/annoyance to be there, but choose a different action to take instead of reacting from anger. 

Useful Resources:

 Download this FREE GUIDE on how to get started as a cancer caregiver. 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

 Someone once said that the brain and the body were two separate entities. What we think about creates how we feel.  Caregiving can bring out all kinds of thoughts or emotions, it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed from the stories that the brain creates as from the thoughts.

Dr. Janeeka Benoit, M.D walks us through, how being intentionally curious with our thoughts  can help us prevent stress and burnout.

Identifying our emotions, and practicing self compassion, are key to becoming intentional with our selves. After a lifetime of not being aware, you can step outside the norm, it takes a little courage, practice and being intentional, but it is a much more deliberate approach preventing burn out and stress. 

Useful Resources:

Dr. Janeeka Benoit's Instagram & Youtube channel

Download our FREE guide on how to get started as a caregiver.
 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

At a certain point during caregiving, the you may take over the responsibilities of your spouse in order to reduce your spouse's stress, a concept known as dyadic coping.

In today's Corey Petersen, PhD  breaks down the concept of dyadic coping and how it affects the relationship between patient -caregiver & marriage/relationship.

Useful Resources:

Corey Petersen's Website

Download our FREE guide to help you get started. 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

 Because grief is a complex emotion, it can be especially scary for someone who has never experienced it; It can be challenging consoling family and friends.  It may seem that nothing you can or say is of help.

Sometimes in the attempt to console your loved ones, certain things may come across as inappropriate. Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing, accepting that you can’t do anything to help your loved feel better can be a good place to start. 

In this week’s episode, Heidi Dunstan,  a widow and Grief Educator turned her own pain and grief into helping others. She talks to us about what not to say to someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

 Resources mentioned on the show:

Heidi Dunstan's Website | Instagram

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

As a caregiver, sometimes you feel guilty of not going out and spending time with your spouse even though your spouse is feeling better for the first time in months. Your children didn’t want to go either, but your spouse would like you to go, but you are too tired to even consider it. 

You are doing a tremendous job, caring for a spouse and children. Treat yourself with compassion, it is okay. You are prioritizing your own mental health, that is self-care. You are showing your children how to take care of themselves.
 
Get yourself this FREE GUIDE on how to get started as a caregiver. 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook

 Living in a constant overwhelm, stress and anxiety can slowly lead to thinking that sleep is unimportant. Your ability to think clearly, effectively care for your own welfare and your family’s needs is severely affected when you are sleep-deprived. 

Sleep is a fundamental need to human beings, just as eating or breathing. Studies show that during sleep, our brain resets during sleep, gets rid of all the gunk that damages our bodies. 

In this week’s episode, Sleep Consultant & Health Coach Martha Lewis, talks to us about the dangers of chronic sleep deprivation and how you can reverse that and get a good night of sleep.

 Resources mentioned on the show:

Martha Lewis's Website  | Instagram 

Follow Us on Instagram & Facebook