Caring for our family is one of the most precious gifts we can offer.  When we are able to be genuine and present with our aging parents, our children, or anyone who needs our help, we touch what is most beautiful about the human experience, the opportunity to be real, raw and tender when it is most needed. Sometimes, however, we might feel so stretched that we lose sight of taking care of ourselves. Learn how mindfulness can help build resilience and greater self-care.

7 Days of Mindful Caregiving

Caring From The Heart

When there is so much to be done, the tasks are difficult or uncomfortable, or we're tired, or distracted by our devices or other demands for our time, we may find ourselves more task focused than caring for the person. What happens for you when you become more task focused than caring focused? For some people, overly focusing on the task can disconnect us from our purpose, intention and care that originally brought us to the tasks of caring in the first place.

Awareness

Curious Observation

Cognitive Flexibility

Attitudes of Mindfulness

Focus

Grappling Guilt

Caregiving can be a wonderful and inspiring role to have with the people we love. However, when we find ourselves motivated by guilt, this can begin to erode the joy, satisfaction and care that we initially felt. Guilt is a powerful motivator, and it is an important emotion to pay attention to.

Help Me Help You

While caring for the ones we love can be one of our most fulfilling roles, it can also be depleting. We can find ourselves so busy trying to take care of everyone else, and in constant go, go, go -do, do, do mode that we neglect to even check in with ourselves to notice what our own needs are.

I Cant Do It All

In our culture where independence is noted as a virtue to aspire to, it is easy to view the natural aging process, or experiencing an illness or injury, as a real threat to our self-identity and to our position/status in our family, community and the world. It's natural to feel a sense of anxiousness, sadness and insecurity as we face the challenges inherent in aging, illness or injury.

I Can't Do It All

I Need Help

In our everyday relationships we naturally establish expectations of each other. These have to do with our roles in the relationships. And when the roles need to change because one person is no longer able to function in the relationship as they once did, this can cause uncertainty about how to re-calibrate the relationship expectations.

Simple Successes

Our brains are designed to focus on the negative. And when it comes to caregiving, this can lead us to focus on what we can't get to, what isn't working, or where we feel like we're coming up short. But this isn't the entire story! It's just what we're focusing on.

Lose Control

What do you notice driving your desire to control the choices others make? Is it fear that they are making poor choices and you don't want them to suffer? Are you worried their choices will make more work or suffering for you? Have you been in similar situations and think you know the best choices based on your experiences? Our desire to control can be for loving and altruistic reasons.

7 Days of Mindful Caregiving

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