Caregiving is an emotional experience, it brings up all sorts of thoughts & emotions, which may cause more confusion. Practicing self compassion is a great way to handle whatever comes up for you,  and learn to be compassionate with the people in your life, building better and meaningful relationships as a result.

 In this brief bonus episode, I share with you how self-compassion helped me heal and become compassionate in my personal and work relationships.

Resources:

Down this FREE guide to help you get started on your caregiving path. 

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A life-threatening illness like colon cancer to your spouse can be physically and emotionally demanding to the caregiver, coupled with other stressors like reduced family income, conflicting opinions regarding your spouse’s treatments, meeting the emotional needs of your children, figuring out the new family dynamic, little sleep to no sleep, fatigue, feelings of not being enough, all the above can leave you feeling exhausted, resentful and burnt out. 

Many studies show that family caregivers suffer from depression, insomnia, hypertension overeating, have an increased risk of suicide and other health ailments. 

In today’s episode, Rachel Hunter, a licensed psychotherapist & a coach walks us through why and how you as a caregiver need to nurture your own emotional and physical welfare because it is just as important as meeting your family’s needs. 

Resources mentioned on the show:

Rachel Hunter's Website | Instagram | Facebook 

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Caring for a spouse or any other human being can be stressful and an emotional rollercoaster because of the physical and emotional demands, related to caregiving. 

As a caregiver,  building resilience and wellness help you as you navigate the uncharted waters of caregiving.  Learning to listen to our thoughts, watching them with curiosity, seeing them for what they are and not what we want them to be.

Resilient living helps you utilize your skills, strengths and weakness to cope and recover from challenges related to caring for your loved one.  

Courage and resilience help you sustain your health as a caregiver, and increasing your capacity to care for your loved one and other life's storms.

In this week’s episode, Leah Davidson, Speech Pathologist & Certified Resilience Coach, talks to us about how & why we can build grit, resilience & perseverance. 

 Resources mentioned on the show:

Leah Davidson's Website | Instagram | Facebook | Clubhouse | FREE guide on how to process emotion.  

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Caring for a spouse or any other person for that matter can be overwhelming, making life-changing decisions from fear can be nerve wrecking.  Nid talks to us about how to gain clarity to get reconnected to our bodies, something that comes in handy when navigating the uncharted waters of caring for a spouse.

Nid is a former attorney at law, turned her life around after suffering a major brain injury to start helping other people like her. A reformer and mat work instructor, ZEN*GA training (fascia movement), Yoga Nidra, Raja yoga Pranayama and Meditation, and 200 hours Yoga Teacher Training.

She undertook Breast Cancer rehabilitation, back care, osteoporosis, scoliosis, joint injuries, stabilization principles, athletic conditioning. 

 Resources mentioned on the show:

Nid's Website| Youtube|InsightTimer

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Caring for a spouse with cancer or any other person can be overwhelming, and an emotional rollercoaster. Before you know it, you are reaching for food in response to what you are feeling. 

Emotional eating isn’t the same as physical hunger, but it still leads to excessive consumption of calories, weight gain, and a host of other diseases.

If you have challenges dealing with your emotions, you may unconsciously reach for food when caring for your spouse becomes challenging. By using food to soothe “unpleasant” emotions, you automatically increase the odds of becoming an emotional eater.  

Master Certified Life Coach Jillian Lama is here to help us understand the difference between eating for fuel and eating as a response to our emotions; And how do we differentiate between the two?

 Resources mentioned on the show:

Jillian Lama's Website | 

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Our bodies use food as fuel, to provide energy for our brain, muscles, heart and lungs. But unlike physical hunger, upsetting thoughts  like fatigue, exhaustion, guilt, anger, grief, despair,   can lead to reaching for food for comfort.

During challenging times, it is easier to subconsciously respond to those emotions by reaching for food, aka emotional eating.  Studies show that emotional eating can lead to obesity, food dependency, and a host of other ailments associated with unhealthy weight gain.

The holiday season is around the corner, you may not be able to attend large family gatherings because it is not the smartest choice for your loved one;  your loved one may not be feeling well, they prefer to stay at home; Or this is the first holiday season without your spouse. You are in the throes of grief, you don’t feel like being around other people - that is okay. All the above circumstances can unconsciously lead to reaching food.

In this week’s episode, Cassie Christopher, a body-positive Registered Dietitian, breaks down what causes emotional eating, in addition she teaches us healthier ways to view food and develop mindful eating habits, how to recognize triggers that lead to emotional eating; Learning to use food as a fuel for the body, and healthier ways to manage our emotions.

Resources mentioned on the show:

Cassie's Website | FREE Heal Emotional Eating Guide 

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Ashley Jackson was in the prime of her life, young, in love and newly engaged to the man of her dreams.  After a routine check with the doctor, the newly engaged couple were faced with some difficult decisions to make.

In this week's episode Ashley Jackson shares her story about how she navigated the uncharted waters of caregiving at a young age.  What she would have done differently if she were to do it all over again.

Resources mentioned on the show:

Ashley Jackson's Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Angela Legh shares with us how to build resilience as a caregiver.  

Cultivating resilience is a skill set, but it is do-able. It takes time, energy and requires being resourceful because different people respond to overwhelming circumstances differently.

Resilience helps us to become flexible through the different challenges that caring for someone may throw our way. 

What works for you, may not necessarily work for the next time. In the same way, the caregiving experience is different for everyone. 

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Robert Lehmberg, MD was a Palliative/Hospice physician, then he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer after a routine CAT scan. His devoted wife and primary caregiver Jennifer O’brien held his hand as he did cancer treatments and untimely passing.  She opens up to us about how that experience was, the good the bad and everything in between.  

Jennifer has vast experience in practice management and administration in larger medical practices, she has a thorough understanding of the American Healthcare, but holding her husband’s hand during cancer treatments was both a huge honor and challenging phase in her life. 

Jennifer documented all the preparations, the support system, grieving process and embracing her spouse’s cancer diagnosis in a journal called the Hospice Doctor’s Widow as a tool for you to help you get started on your caregiving tasks. 

Resources mentioned on the show:

Buy the Hospice Doctor’s Widow Journal  from here & here.

Jennifer O’brien’s Website & Instagram

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Caring for a spouse can be overwhelming, lots of thoughts and emotions. 
By becoming aware of your thoughts and subsequent emotions, you learn to deal with overwhelm and manage the caregiving tasks better.  

Learning to differentiate between thoughts vs the facts leads to clarity.  Many times our brains will make up stories, which can cause us pain and suffering,  confusion and more overwhelm. 

In today's episode,  Mr. Stephen Pleasant walks us through simple ways to manage overwhelm by learning to identify our thoughts. 

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