How to Keep the Care in Caregiving

When traveling by plane, one of the first instructions you are given is to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, before putting it on the person next to you needing help.

This is very true of caregiving.    Our lives center around the patient and before long, we neglect our needs.  We do not take time to eat properly, exercise and participate in the activities we used to enjoy.  We grow frustrated, angry and depleted.  We feel guilty for feeling this way when our loved one is suffering, which perpetuates the spiral.

We cannot give what we do not have.

It is vital to remember to take care of ourselves.  Each day we need to take time to fill up which will help both you and your loved one. When we do, we are more centered, more efficient and have more stamina.  We can fill up so we can give with the same love and compassion we show ourselves.

Let me know in the comments below how you might be able to take better care of yourself.

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