Caregivers Island: Losing Yourself, Finding Yourself (Stage 6 Finding Meaning)
By Padma Gordon
As a caregiver, it can be easy to lose yourself in caring for another’s needs and you may experience a radical shift in your perspective on life when becoming a caregiver is your primary identity. When this happens, self-care often falls away or drops to the bottom of your impossibly long to do list. Your priorities shift and you dive headlong into learning everything about your child’s or another loved one’s disease as well as managing their care each day. We joined for a conversation with other caregivers who are discovering ways to resource themselves as they care for their families. We witnessed women with open hearts, trusting their inner wisdom and sharing what they’ve learned along the way.
The importance of sleep surfaces as a common theme for maintaining self care, along with the reminder to listen to the body and take time to check in with what your needs are as a caregiver. With the demands of each day, the caregiver doesn’t have time to pretend, this presence allows for authentic communication, especially around the nature of capacity and support. The honest reflection that there will be many moments of rediscovery of self along the path as a caregiver.
Support is paramount for every caregiver and delegating whenever possible is vital to maintaining self care. These inevitable shifts and changes that arise in the journey of a caregiver create potent moments for rediscovery of self at many stages. A shared thread of insight to listen to the heart, explore the places and things that spark joy and the ability to shift and expand as your perspective and identity transform.
Join us next Tuesday for discussion and Support. June 23: Allowing Yourself To Blossom: What Happens Now?
