In caregiving, you may feel that you regularly wear a game face. You may put on a game face when you and your caree hear difficult news during a doctor’s appointment. You may wear a game face on those bad days when the requests for your help just won’t stop. And, your game face comes out during the unpleasant moments during personal care.

Your game face helps you cope with upsetting moments, unpleasant tasks and difficult days. But with so much energy put into playing, how do you stay in the game?

Take off your game face to have a private moment to allow the tears, to consider who else can help manage unpleasant tasks and to vent about a day you hope to never repeat. And, once in awhile, bench yourself. It’s okay to have substitutes take your place on the field.

The game of caregiving is a game of overtimes. To make it to the final buzzer, be on with time off. Put on your game face, then unwind by taking it off. Play on the field, then catch your breath by getting off the field to the bench. That’s how you win the game of caregiving.

Resources

• Do you love our Monday comforts? Then, you’ll love Take Comfort, Too, More Reflections of Hope for Caregivers. In Take Comfort, Too, Denise M. Brown takes 108 words—including Parade, Green, Red and Glory—and then turns each into a reflection. The reflections focus on a family caregiver’s reality, sprinkled with hope. Denise’s insights about the caregiving experience feel like a warm hug, a helpful smile and an encouraging nudge. You can save 15% when you order Take Comfort, Too; use coupon code FIRESIDE305 at check-out. Order here.

• Our next free webinar is “Surviving Caregiving: The Power of Acceptance” on February 16th at 11:00am Central (Noon ET, 9 a.m. PT). How do you survive caregiving? A key component is acceptance. And, that’s easier said than done. There’s so much to accept in caregiving–how is it possible? How in the world can it really help? In “Surviving Caregiving: The Power of Acceptance,” Denise will share ways to move to acceptance so that caregiving seems doable rather than just plain awful. At the end of the 45-minute presentation, you’ll have a plan in place to accept. To attend this webinar, visit: http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=17505084 on February 16 at 11:00 a.m. Central (Noon ET, 9 a.m. PT). Can’t attend? We’ll post a recording of the webinar on the website on February 17.

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