Are You A GRACIOUS☺️ or GRUMPY 😠Family Caregiver? Serious Talk!😣
#familyconflict #familydynamics #familycaregivers #emotionalhealth #emotionalrollercoasters #anxietyanddepression #anticpatorygrief #dementiacare #dementiasupport #shame #caregiverlife
Family Caregiving is NOT for the faint-hearted and despite our best intentions, the daily grind, the fatigue, the unexpected, the loneliness, can lead to a cascade of emotions that can be difficult to understand, much less process, and leave you feeling as if "there is no way out".
YET..... often, when help IS offered, especially by other family members- there's conflict- and help is judged, corrected, or FLATLY refused.
😡💥SOUNDS FAMILIAR? 😡😤
So, how can we meet in the middle - empathise, and understand WHY this happens, and --- "GIVE PEACE A CHANCE"!💗🫂💗?
3 main reasons why help is refused:
1/ GUILT- often self-imposed and mis-directed- the main Caregiver feels responsible for the illness- this makes help offered feel like failure.
2/ OVER PROTECTION (the "mother hen") - no-one else but you can "get it right"- that is rooted in safety, but tells relatives you don;t /can't trust them (they WILL go away after a while- they will!)
3/ UNRESOLVED SIBLING RIVALRY and COMPETITION- whether 6 years old or 60, sibling rivalry is as old as Cain and Abel, and this can create conflict rather than cohesion.
So: what can we do? Give empathy where we can; grace where we can't.
💗💗🫂🫂KEEP the focus in the RIGHT PLACE- our LOVED ONE.💗💗🫂🫂
One day/hour at a time
From my heart to yours💗
Dr. Lana
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Overwhelmed? Let's connect: 📧lana@lanaannemd.com
For more insights and connect for a FREE face-to-Face 15 minute Zoom call, and a place where we can connect as physicians on my website:
lanaslittlethings.com
If you're a Family Caregiver at your wit's end, needing a different perspective, set up your free 15-minute coaching call-also by email -lana@lanaannemd.com - or on www.lanaslittlethings.com
I always look forward to meeting Fellow Family Caregivers- we gotta stick together!💯
