Taking Care Of Yourself When You Are Taking Care Of Someone Else

I wrote a post about caregivers awhile ago. You can read that post here. I want to continue to write on this topic – taking care of yourself when you are taking care of a loved one.

When taking care of someone, we may very often put our own needs aside. We may say I don’t need to have down time, or sleep as much, or eat a good meal, or go for a walk, or ask for help. How can I ask for help, if I am the one who is the helper?

Caregivers

Caregivers are:

• Mothers of new born babies, young children, teenagers, young adults.
• Adult children taking care of their parents.
• A partner taking care of their sick partner.
• A family member (aunt, brother, niece, grandparent, uncle) taking care of another family member.
• A father taking care of his children.
• A parent – father or mother – financially being supportive of their family.
• A friend who offers help and assistance
• A health care practitioner who cares, listens and helps people.
• An educator.

Basically a care giver is anyone who is caring for another person. Care giving is not only in helping someone with their physical needs, but also helping them emotionally, financially, with their education, feeling responsible for them, and more.

As a care giver, it is really important to take care of yourself. And so very often we put ourselves on the back burner. It is giving a hand to ourselves, as well as our loved one.

On A Personal Note

For me it is hard to hear or see when someone I love is in pain, doesn’t sleep well, doesn’t like what is happening in their life, is hurting physically or emotionally, is not getting their needs met, is stressed out about their life, or is falling down, literally. I want to help them immediately. I want to make it all better for them, even wanting the situation to go away completely.

Most of the time, I can’t really do this. I can’t make it all better, right away. At these times, I need to acknowledge and honor myself, my needs, my feelings, my responses, and say “it is okay that I feel this way”. And then move forward, to do what I need to do for my loved one, and for myself. And sometimes, for the loved one, it is just being with them, being there, and not really doing anything.

Taking Care Of Yourself

There may be activities or daily practices that you enjoy and help you in your life. Some of these could be taking a walk, being in nature, meditating, doing a creative activity, gardening, having a good cry, venting to someone, receiving a hug, talking to a close friend or therapist, seeing a good movie, taking a break, getting as much sleep as you can, having a massage, treating yourself to a good meal,having a good piece of chocolate and more.

Homeopathy can also be of help. If you are in a situation that is a prolonged care taking situation, and is difficult for you, you may want to see a homeopath for help. It will not just be help for a physical issue, but for what this situation means to you. We all have our own sensitivities, and very often when there is a stressful situation, our sensitivities are exasperated and come to the fore, expressed or manifested in physical symptoms, emotional responses, or just not feeling well.

When we are healthy, we are in a better place to handle the different situations that life brings to us. We are still affected by the situation and respond to them. But we are able to right ourselves, and know that we need to do the things that help ourselves, such as saying, I need to take a break, I need a day off, I need to ask for help. In the long run, this helps our loved ones as well.

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Whatever kind of care giving you are doing, I invite you to contact me if you would like some help. Either contact me here through this blog or through my website www.homeopathytoheal.com.

 

 

 

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My Ideal Patient For Homeopathy Is Mom

The other day I was thinking of who my ideal patient is in my homeopathic practice. And it is a mom. She is usually holistically minded. She may have done some reading in holistic health, and on homeopathy. She wants for herself and her family members to experience a long lasting healing for whatever health concern they may have. She doesn’t want her family to be taking ongoing medications that don’t help or heal. And she doesn’t want them to be experiencing any  side effects. She wants a healing for her family and for herself.

The mom may need to talk to her husband or partner, educating them on the benefits of holistic health, on homeopathy. Sometimes she may feel that she needs to use allopathic medicine (western medicine) for a health concern. For me as a practitioner of homeopathy, I tell moms that if they do use, let’s say antibiotics, we can still continue doing homeopathy. I don’t want the mom to feel she needs to choose between allopathic  and homeopathic medicine in some instances.

Health Concerns

The following are some health concerns that the family may experience. Although, they are listed by mother, father and children, some of the health concerns can affect either age or sex.

Some of the health concerns a mom may have for herself: menstrual issues, menopause, anxiety, depression, insomnia, digestive issues, headaches and migraines, fibromyalgia,  skin eruptions, chronic fatigue.

For her children: behavioral issues, eczema, asthma, other skin eruptions, on going coughs, stomach aches, chronic ear infections and colds, nightmares, fears, difficulty sleeping, childhood diseases.

And for her husband: men’s issues, lack of confidence, headaches, insomnia, performance issues in different areas, skin eruptions, arthritis, injuries, flus.

Moms

I have seen all sorts of moms. A new mom who wants to know how to help her young baby develop immunity.  A grandmother who has brought in her grand children for behavioral issues. A mom who is concerned about her teenaged son who has skin eruptions. A mom whose 7 year old son has an ongoing cough, or has a teenage daughter who has difficult periods. And a mom calling about her mother. Most of the time, the mom is the gateway to the family’s health. All sorts of moms, from a new mom to a grandmother, and all the moms in between.  A mom brings herself, she brings her children, she brings her grandchildren, she brings her husband/partner, and other family members.

Please know that dads can be the mom too.

So moms out there, and dads, educate yourself on homeopathy, and see how it can be of help for you and for your family’s health care.

If I can be of any help for you and/or your family, please contact me here by leaving a comment or through my website www.homeopathytoheal.com  I offer a 15+ minute complimentary Get Acquainted Phone Call.