CAREGIVERS WELLNESS - IT'S MY CHOICE

LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE NOW AS A CAREGIVER

You can take my word for it, if your experience is typical of what most caregivers encounter, the journey won’t get any easier as time goes on. There is a familiar saying that “wellness is a choice”, and of course the choice is always up to each person, but, for caregivers in my personal opinion, it’s a crucial decision.

For instance - take my experience, when I first became a caregiver, I was trying to juggle all the balls of work, home, and care, and hoping I could maintain control of it all. Well, it wasn't too long before I was singing the blues and throwing pity parties about not enough help, not enough time, not enough sleep, until it finally dawned on me the buck stopped with me.

Also, I had to finally realize that my mom's illness was what it was, and the only thing I could change would be how I responded to it. I had to learn to make the most of every minute of every day and I became an avid researcher of "everything caregiving" and realized the importance of wellness especially for caregivers and started a life coaching program focusing on wellness.

DOES YOUR LIFE HAVE BALANCE?

Why, you may wonder, did I pursue life coach/wellness training? It was not only to become a better caregiver for my mom, but some research studies have shown that caregivers over the long haul, are more likely to experience serious health problems and the mortality rate for those who are care providers of a family member will quite often die before the person for whom they are providing care due to stress related issues.

KEEP SHARP, STAY SHARP AND BE SHARP

I try to continually keep sharp, stay sharp and be sharp - by exercising my mind, pampering my body and enriching my spirit – using the 7-Dimensions of Wellness to work on personal development goals to enhance my health. One of the ways I work on developing my stamina as a caregiver is by keeping an attitude of gratitude.

Although, my work background is in education, writing and business, in becoming a life/wellness coach, I feel it’s important to share the things I've learned and to focus on the caregiver experience thru my website and blog. My goal is to share the tips, tools and resources I have discovered in my journey, and suggest some choices that can possibly help you take better care of yourself, and will allow you to provide a better quality care for yourself and your family member.

Finally, thru personal experience, study and training I learned the importance of finding balance as a caregiver in order that I could provide quality care for my mom– (go to my About page for more information). But, I also reached the point where I no longer felt guilty asking for help and you shouldn’t either.

Got a story you’d like to share? Have questions about coaching, or have comments or suggestions - SEND ME AN EMAIL at: Coachglozcaregiverwellness.com also check out my Job Board listings - Care-well Career Solutions

Be Well - Stay Well -Because Caregivers Need Care Too!!

Coach Gloria

Life Strategies/Wellness Coach & Patient Advocate

Owner: GJ Brown & Associates

Blog: Glo’s Caregiver Wellness Connection

Email: gbrown1gjba@gmail.com

Website: coachglozcaregiverwellness.com

Gloria is a practicing life & wellness coach, consultant/trainer, freelance writer and inspirational speaker