Thank you for joining Theresa and Alison on this amazing journey. In this concluding episode we reflect back through our journey and we share what's next for both of us. We discuss how the podcast impacted us as co-hosts and our hope that it continues to empower caregivers as they work through the strategies and customize them for their needs.

We couldn't have done this limited-series podcast so successfully without the support of Chris MacLellan of the Whole Care Network or without our fabulous episode sponsors.

• Circle Of
• Sustainable Caregiving
• Happy Healthy Caregiver
• Joe & Bella
• Connecting Caregivers Radio
• Geriatrx.org
• Caregiver Warrior
• Alongside Caregiver Consulting
• Advocate for Mom & Dad
• the Everyday Nurse
• Brutally Beautiful Foundation

And thank you!

This is our bonus strategy episode where we wrap up all the self-caregiving strategies to see how they can work together for each caregiver to make a tailor-made caregiving support system.

Which strategies help bring you back to your centre? Which can you use to help carry you through a difficult period?

As you listen to the episode identify the strategies you are now using and how each strategy strengthens the other strategies for your unique situation.

Your tailor-made support system filled with the self-caregiving strategies is available to enhance your caregiving journey.

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Heather Zoccali of Brutally Beautiful Foundation

Here's the link to the video Theresa created that we mentioned in the episode Sustainable Caregiving Support System

And a few other links:

The Whole Care Network podcast directory

Island Treasures podcast for Caregivers

Navigating the Caregiver River

Worries abound in caregiving, and often in life; and so this strategy was designed to help us take the worries out of the infinite loop that may be playing in our minds, by putting them down on paper with a solution. 

Planning is an example of practical self-care which can help us clear the fog of worry we may be experiencing. By planning for the unexpected as well as transitions that come along in our caregiving journeys, our awareness and preparation can reduce the anxiety that accompanies change so that we are empowered as we navigate these transitions.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor, Jessica Sima, founder of the Everyday Nurse.

To check out the resources we spoke about to assist with your planning and preparing, here are the links:

Sustainable Caregiving - for information and tips to help with challenging conversations

For Advance Care Planning:

• Five Wishes
• The Conversation Project
• My Speak Up Plan (Canada)
• My Voice (Canada)

Family Emergency Planning Sessions (provided by the Caregiving Years Training Academy)

Forgiving can be difficult and there are so many opportunities within caregiving to forgive - starting with ourselves. We can forgive the friends and family members who may have disappointed us as well as the systems that may have let us down. Finally, we may have opportunity to forgive our care recipient. By forgiving we experience a big release that frees up our headspace allowing for more productive thoughts.

Forgiving is the gift we give ourselves; but it is a process. We invite you to listen to this valuable strategy of forgiving to free up your heart and your mind.

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Debra Hallisey of Advocate for Mom and Dad

Journaling has many self-caregiving benefits and it is an affordable strategy for us all to use especially during caregiving.

Journaling is a form of venting and a great way to process our emotions while simultaneously capturing our caregiving experience. We can use journaling to record medical information, changes in behavior, changes in health, and we can also use it to record the funny moments, or work through a frustrating situation, or even use it to figure out the best approach to a difficult situation. If we choose to look back at our journals we can see how we overcame challenges and we may appreciate seeing how much we have grown through our experiences.

We discuss how helpful journal prompts are to get us started with journaling and thank Happy Healthy Caregiver for sponsoring this episode and also for creating a daily self-care journal called "Just for You" which contains helpful prompts.

Here's the link to the video Theresa mentioned of the Caregiver in a Superhero Cape

As we talk about managing the uncomfortable emotions many face during caregiving, we visit the strategy of releasing the build-up of pressure by venting to avoid reaching our boiling point. By venting we are able to release some of the stress, the frustrations and the worries. This may sound simple, but there are reasons why it can be difficult and we explore some of the reasons why it is hard, but so necessary.

Have you ever just felt like screaming out loud to release some of the frustration you are experiencing? In this episode you will hear how beneficial this can be. We'll guide you in your exploration to find a safe place and way for venting. So come along on this episode with us to hear more about venting with the hope that you will feel validated, connected and not alone.

A couple of references for this episode include the podcast Theresa mentioned: The Art of Holding Space

Matt Kahn’s book -  All for Love: The Transformative Power of Holding Space

The Caregiving Years Training Academy Directory of Certified Caregiving Consultants

Our episode sponsor Alongside Caregiver Consulting

Music Credits: Beautiful Piano by LesFM | https://lesfm.net/piano-background-music/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Overcoming obstacles is empowering - transforming them is taking this empowerment to the next level! In this episode Theresa and Alison discuss how we can use obstacles to our advantage and how by doing so we are empowered.

In caregiving there are many obstacles. We encounter them within the systems we must navigate through. Our friends, family members and even our care recipient can present obstacles for us. There is hope though and we can become stronger by leaning into obstacles, tune in to hear more.

Thank you to this episode's sponsor Susanne White of Caregiver Warrior and Susanne's book is now available "Self-Care for Caregivers: a practical guide to caring for you while you care for your loved one"

And for more on the "compassionate scientist" we spoke about - you can listen to Jodi Kay Benusa on "Stop, Pause and Reflect" on the Island Treasures podcast for Caregivers.

This episode's strategy is all about discovering the power of accepting alternatives. By accepting alternatives we learn how to align our path with our family member and work in concert toward the same objectives; and we explore what those objectives may look like - including ultimately focusing on the destination - beginning with the end in mind.

We explore when winning is losing and not winning at all, and how we may be able to find happiness in the present moment so that we can maximize memories and minimize regrets... all while winning.

We talk about how ego enters the equation as does our own tight grip on our goals; and once we loosen our grip we see there are other alternatives that may provide a win-win outcome along with an improved relationship with our care-recipient.

Theresa shares wisdom from David Solie's book: How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders

Thank you to this episode's sponsor Geriatrx.

As a self-caregiving strategy, accepting help is vital. We can't do it all ourselves - not without consequences. Accepting help can free up some of our time and energy so we can use it on our own self-care.

It is not easy to accept help or even ask for help and we explore some of the reasons for this reluctance. We discuss different types of help available including agencies and informal resources.

We explore what respite looks like and how beneficial it may be to check out options before they are needed urgently.

Theresa and Alison hope that by listening to this episode you will be open to accepting help and freeing up some of your time and energy to focus on your own well-being. Accepting help may require taking a baby step to delegate one task at a time.

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Joe & Bella Inc.

And here's the article Alison mentioned called "Asking For Help to Relieve Caregiver Stress".

In this episode we talk about accepting the role of caregiver and finding the gifts that may be hidden or disguised within some of the challenges or struggles we are facing; or even our own resistance to accepting the very role we are in.

Theresa learned not only how to accept the role of caregiver, but how to embrace it, which she found empowering. She learned that by releasing her resistance to accepting the role she was able to reduce her stress. Through applying this strategy, Theresa was able to turn many of her caregiving realities into gifts and you'll hear all about these gifts in this episode.

If you find yourself in the midst of caregiving or just dipping your toes in the waters of caregiving, you will want to hear how you can take back control and thrive in your role as a caregiver. By reframing the experience you may want to start collecting your own souvenirs along your caregiving journey.

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Linda Burhans of Connecting Caregivers Radio