The 4 Stages Of Your Caregiver Journey

Send Cathy a text:)I'm now 4 years into my caregiving journey.  As I look back I see 4 stages I went through and want to share these with you:  Stage 1: THE NEW STAGE.  The initial news fills you with shock, disbelief and all those emotionsThen you jump in telling yourself I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll figure it outHere’s where I became obsessed with google - searching anything and everything about your loved one’s condition.  You form your team - doctors, nurse navigators, family support, etcYou try to figure out the who advocacy stuff You're taking care of your loved oneThis stage is focused on the NOW, the NEW and just figuring it out.  You just want to get going on your loved one’s careYou are putting your needs to the sideStage 2:  ROUTINE OR SETTLING IN STAGE.   Things have now become routine somewhatYou're trying to figure out how to balance work, home, caregivingWorkload and to do list is biggerFatigue is usually setting inStress is increasingYou start feeling stretchedYou may find yourself doing things aloneYou and your loved one are more comfortable with your team (doctors, nurses, help)You and your loved one are more comfortable with the clinic, labs, treatments, etcYou become more of an expert with your loved one’s conditionYou're more comfortable with caregivingThere are good days and bad daysYour nutrition and self-care looks differentStage 3:  AWARENESS AND REALITY or as I call it the LIGHT BULB GOES ONCaregiving is taking its toll on your health both physically and mentallyIt affects your relationshipsYou may be struggling with financesYou may not see it or may not want to admit it yet - you may want to run from it.You realize you can’t do it all and shouldn’t have taken this all on yourselfYou hope it will go awayCaregiving becomes a burdenWishing for your old lifeRealizing that you're stuck, stretched and overwhelmed and don’t know how to get out.  But then something happens in this difficult stage - you begin to see realityStage 4:  FIGURE OUT STAGE You start shifting.   You can see what is causing overwhelm, stress, stretched and stuckSeeing everything is KEY to moving forward and getting to a better caregiver life.  You start asking for helpYou start putting yourself firstYou're open to trying new habits and routinesYou can learn ways to release overwhelmYou find purposeYou start pursing your passions WHILE caregiving w/o guiltPersonal growth and courage happensYou may have to make hard decisionsCaregiving is a journey.  Being a caregiver is an on-the-job training like no other.  You can just go through the motions or you can take it as a beautiful gift.   I've learned so much about my loved ones, their diseases, the medical profession and most importantly myself through this journey that is still going.  I'm so grateful that I can share my journey with you on The Caregiver Cup Podcast.  Soon, very soon, I'll be sharing a free webinar with you regarding the shifts I made when moving from Stage 3 to 4.  Be the first to register for this free webinar (coming soon) by going to cathylvan.com/freewebinar   Support the show