I am praying that all is well with you and that your body is as healthy as I know your soul is. 3 John 1:2 TLB
I stumbled in to the bathroom because I couldn’t sleep. As I splashed my face with cold water, I looked at the reflection in the mirror. My bloodshot eyes stared back at me as I looked at the rash on my face. I was just so tired that I felt like I could not keep going. I knew I had to make a doctor’s appointment but hated to take the time because of all that I had to do. Despair gripped my heart. At that moment, the last thing on my mind was taking care of my own health. I am not alone.
“Nearly three quarters (72{61d001d4b7a96de80e0078bc3f1338479c39cdb76b689e6c6695e09544b9a7dc}) of family caregivers report not going to the doctor as often as they should and 55{61d001d4b7a96de80e0078bc3f1338479c39cdb76b689e6c6695e09544b9a7dc} say they skip doctor appointments for themselves. 63{61d001d4b7a96de80e0078bc3f1338479c39cdb76b689e6c6695e09544b9a7dc} of caregivers report having poor eating habits than non-caregivers and 58{61d001d4b7a96de80e0078bc3f1338479c39cdb76b689e6c6695e09544b9a7dc} indicate worse exercise habits than before caregiving responsibilities.
(Evercare Study of Caregivers in Decline: A Close-Up Look at Health Risks of Caring for a Loved One.
National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare. 2006.)
Take care of your health! Here are some specific ways to do so:
Active Self Nurture
Make and keep your own doctor appointments
In the pressure of getting those you take care of to the doctor you might neglect your own appointment because you think, “It can wait…” No, it cannot. Pick up that phone and make your appointment. Do it right now.
Change your eating habits
Oh, this is such a hard one. This was especially true when Bill had to be fed via a feeding tube. Fortunately, our son was still at home and we started following The Maker’s Diet. You don’t have to go all-out to start this. Here are some practical suggestions you can start today:
- Replace water for soft drinks
- Munch on an apple instead of that brownie
- Increase vegetable consumption – preferably with a salad
- Cut back on processed foods
- Avoid all fast-food places (this may be the hardest one)
- Take the time to prepare healthy snacks ahead of time
- Take a chewable multi-vitamin morning and night
Increase movement
Stretch first thing in the morning. As you wake up every morning s-t-r-e-t-c-h! Your cell phone probably has a step tracker. Set a small goal to monitor your steps each day. The suggested number of steps is 10,000. Get someone to help you for an hour a day so that you can walk.
One of the most difficult seasons of my life was when I was “sandwiched” between caring for my mother-in-love and my teenagers. It didn’t help that my husband was disabled as well. Looking back on it, I can see the hand of the Lord in it all as He gave me strength and courage to face each day. Tracking my own health, eating right and walking every day made a huge difference. Please do that same.
For the rest of the alphabet in the ABCs of Self Nurture for Caregivers please click here.
Karen Sebastian-Wirth has, over the years, lovingly cared for her mother-in-love, mother, father and husband. She certainly has learned the lessons of hope in what can become a treacherous ride over some rough waters. You will enjoy her candid approach to self nurture and the practical ways to take care of yourself. Her new book The Power of Hope for Caregivers: Honor the Ride will be released in November, 2017.
Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope.
