Caring For Yourself As a Caregiver

Do you find yourself serving others from the “Depths of Your Well”?  Maybe you work in a hospital, clinic, rehab center or other care facility. Or your passion in life is being a parent and caring for your children.  Perhaps you are being there for someone in your immediate family who is in need of your care. Whatever your circumstances, you are committed to helping others.  But after you do, you feel too empty to take care of yourself.

If you are breezing through each day feeling energized by what you do, taking time to take care of yourself from the inside out, eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep, then you do not need to read the rest of this article.  However, if you are struggling with being able to accomplish any of these essentials as you are caring for others, please read on…

You probably already know what you need to do to take care of yourself.  And whatever way you choose to do that is your own personal choice. I believe the real issue here is how do you find the time and energy to care for yourself as you care for others?  How do you tap into creating that “Overflow”?

Through years of caring for my parents, my spouse, and others in hospitals as a nurse, I have discovered 4 easy steps that have made all the difference in my ability to feel energized by what I do as a caregiver.  They also helped me start to take better care of myself from the inside out.

Here are the 4 steps I discovered:

• Learn to say “NO”

Get in touch with your own truth, listen to your heart and trust your intuition.  When choosing to do anything, if it’s feels like a little bit of a “No” then just say ”NO”.  Respect your own boundaries.

• Have more FUN

Laugh more at yourself and look for more of the Fun in the situation.  Be easy with yourself knowing that you are doing your best. When you are having Fun you are opening up to more positive outcomes.  

• ASK for help

You aren’t alone. There are people all around you who are more than willing to help you.  Asking for their help gives them permission to support you when you need it.

•  SEARCH for what uplifts and energizes you

As a caregiver, I found that looking at uplifting photos and quotes on Facebook helped me feel more energized and connected to my inner self.  It was this step that helped me focus on creating more ways to feel better.

I encourage you to find what uplifts and energizes you to care for yourself.  By finding better feeling thoughts about being a caregiver you will begin to take better feeling actions that will benefit you and those you are caring for.  

Following these steps on a daily basis will help you find more time and energy to care for yourself.  Then it will be easier to serve others “from your Overflow”.

Looking for more support caring for yourself as a caregiver?  Go to Caregiver’s Oasis on Facebook and enjoy more resources and inspiring posts.

Loving Light and Smiles,

Nada 🙂