How to you stay motivated and keep you energy level up?

08/05/21 • 22 min

The Caregiver Cup Podcast

Previous Episode

How a caregiver is similar to being an olympic athlete

Send Cathy a text:)

This past week brought lots of news from the girls gymnastics team with Simone Biles pulling herself out of the group and individual round competition due to mental illness.

This news story got me thinking about how this story relates to being a caregiver. NY Times Article - Published July 27, 2021Updated July 30, 2021, 7:50 p.m. ET

When she twisted fewer times than she had planned in the vault, she knew she was not herself, having lost her usually uncanny sense of where her body is in the air and failing to complete the kind of daring skill she is known for.

Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the world, walked off the mat and left the competition, saying she was not mentally prepared to continue.

“At the end of the day, we’re human, too, so we have to protect our mind and our body rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do,” she said. “With the year that it’s been, I’m really not surprised how it played out.”

Think about how much practice and dedication it takes for gymnastics competition. As caregivers, we dedicate our time and energy by managing the household, finances, working our job or business plus doing all the caregiving tasks.

Athletes practice multiple times a day plus practice proper nutrition and sleep.

What about you? If you go back to episode 42 and episode 28, I share my morning routines and the benefits of having a morning mindset. Getting up early isn’t easy but it pays huge dividends when it comes to your health. You can’t be at your best if you don’t pay attention to your nutrition, hydration, sleep and exercising your mind and body.

I think about what these athletes have to give up.

Instead of focusing on what you give up. Think about it as delaying your time. Simone’s Mom told her your dreams are just delayed when she didn’t make the USA team to go to the London Olympics. You can still have the dream. You may have to slow down, but it can still happen.

As much controversy and negative feedback Simone is getting, I personally am glad that mental illness is being talked about.

When’s the last time you told yourself

I just can’t focus
I just can’t function today
I am in a fog
I just can’t work today or I can’t caregive today

These are all signs of caregiver burnout or compassion fatigue. Get this free resource: caregiver stress.

It's important to take a break. If you're in the hospice stage, it may be a nap, a walk or a drive for an hour. If your loved one is dealing with a chronic illness, it’s a long haul and you NEED to take respite care for yourself. In Episode 40 is more details of respite care.

Ask for help. It’s important to do what Simone did and say no, I can’t do it. Your health and mental well-being are the most important.

My action step for you is to reflect on your health and well-being. On a scale of 1-10. 10=great and 1=worst. Where are you at? What can you do to improve your health, your mental well-being, and your situation?

Taking care of yourself is NOT selfish. It’s necessary. Commit to yourself

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Get my free resource: 17 SHIFTS TO RECUDE CAREGIVER STRESS & SAY GOOD-BYE TO CAREGIVER BURNOUT

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Why don't I have the energy like I used to?

Send Cathy a text:)

Have you said to yourself : Why don’t I have the energy like I used to have? Or, I am so tired all the time.

It’s called caregiver fatigue. This occurs when you feel emotionally and physically exhausted. You are wearing out. You are feeling totally used up due to too many demands. You are burning out.

What are your emotional demands? Your loved one is sick and you can’t make them better. They demand an extreme degree of physical and emotional care.
What are your conflicting priorities? Who else needs your time and energy? Your family, your children, your boss, your employees, your co-workers, Trying to meeting everyone’s needs creates conflict and stress.
Do you feel ambiguity in your new normal? You really don’t know exactly what to do, meaning your roles and responsibilities.
You workload. What’s on your plate? Are you trying to juggle everything?
What about all the advocacy responsibilities? The insurance, medical decisions, medical visits, doctor conversations and nursing questions. On top of that, making the hard decisions on finances, home care, hospice care and estate plans.
Then there’s the lack of privacy. Do you feel it? There is no time to be alone. There may be many people in and out of your home or your life assisting with some facet of the caregiving all the time.

These factors may contribute to feelings that you have no control, or that you don’t have adequate skills or knowledge in this area. Feeling that you don’t have independence or “say so” in your life. Feeling you can’t succeed, or that you’re a failure.

When burnout reaches a critical level, it begins to be very evident in your life. Burnout can manifest itself in various ways, including: depression, withdrawal, feelings of helplessness or hopelessness, negative emotions, physical fatigue, sleep deprivation or sleep disorders, personal health problems and lowered self-esteem.

What do you do when you recognize this feeling of caregiver fatigue

Ask yourself, how are you taking care of yourself? I know how hard it can be to stop and look at yourself in the mirror and say, you are not well.
Be honest and truthful with yourself. Look at your sleep, nutrition, hydration and exercise. Look at your schedule from work to family to your loved one’s care.

When you admit the burn out, you can start working on you. Make a commitment. It may start with a walk each evening after supper or coffee on the porch in the morning with a gratitude journal or food prepping each week or scheduling therapy.

Now you can’t wake up and say, I’m committed to this great plan. Take baby steps and just start. Maybe this week it’s drinking your water. Remember in this caregiver life you're in, you can’t add more pressure and stress to yourself. So small steps will be better for you.

Schedule one evening or day to food prep. Maybe you invite a friend over to help so you can get some socialization in too. Or you hire someone to clean your house once a week. Then you use that time to get a bike ride.

It requires you to stop and figure out your self care habits. When you don’t take care of yourself, stress and anxiety bubble up. You need a release.

Commit to look at your past week and take one sm

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Thank you for listening. If you know of another caregiver who could benefit from this podcast, please copy and share this episode.