Being a caregiver isn’t easy. Whether you are caring for kids, your employees, or a loved one with a medical condition, you are still caring for others. Often those in caring roles put those they care for first. What’s needed is caring for yourself first so that you can keep caring for others. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’? Well, I use to joke that my cup had been shattered and I had to use super glue every day to put it back together. We all know that we need to care for ourselves. WE don’t need someone else telling us that. We just have to figure out how to do it in the environment we have.
I was in a state of exhaustion, but my husband’s life depended on me. I have many examples sadly where this is true due to my husband’s medical condition. Either way you may be feelings that same way in your situation. I want to encourage you to at minimum start a practice of ‘taking 5’. What I mean by this is taking 5 minutes for yourself. I literally set a timer for 5 minutes. One of my favorite ‘Take 5’ moments is drinking a cup of tea outside on my porch. Another is talking a small 5-minute walk outside.
It’s amazing what just 5 minutes can do for your mind. It’s a great starting point to incorporate time for you and it’s not so overwhelming. Once you start to make a habit of Taking 5 you will slowly be able to grow the number of Take 5’s and lengthen them as needed. I have had to Take 5 after certain things have triggered me or just became something in that moment I could handle. In moments involving other people I have simply said I need to Take 5; I’ll be back.
My husband is non-verbal and home bound. I have had to Take 5 with him a few times. One time he wanted me to stay to try and comfort me and I just reassured him I would be right back I just needed to Take 5. Over the last 4 years caring for him I have learned that if I’m angers, tired, overwhelmed, I don’t make for an effective caregiver. Taking 5 has greatly helped me get through tough moments and build to where I was eventually able to take overnight trips again. Once in the roll of the caregiver that I had to take on I couldn’t imagine an overnight stay and I just left for Italy for two weeks!
You are worthy of a break and time to yourself. You deserve it and need it. So go TAKE 5 now.
With love and light,
Jessica-Rose
