Grow your strengths

Where’s the manual?

Being a family caregiver can be overwhelming at times and make us feel like we’re not sure what we’re doing. There isn’t a ‘one size fits all manual’ to reference, so we need to piece it together to fit our situation. 

You may have a whole team of friends and family helping with the caregiving, or you may be doing it all on your own. You might have plenty of resources, or you might be scrambling to find what you need. 

It can be difficult to manage the tasks of caregiving and take care of your own needs, and some days will be better than others. 

Sometimes, just knowing that you are doing your best is enough. 

Focus on your strengths

Since there is no way one person can do everything, try focusing on the things you do best. If you can determine the areas of caregiving that you enjoy most, or find easiest to accomplish, then you can make a list of the areas where you need to enlist the help of others. 

Just as you are better at certain tasks, you can look for someone else who really enjoys the parts of caregiving that you struggle with. This will help with your self-care as well. When you’re able to focus on the best parts of yourself, without guilt or shame, you can enjoy even the really difficult days.  

Try This

In this exercise, we will be focusing on our own personal strengths and how we can encourage ourselves with love and self-compassion. We all have personal traits that we love and some that we might want to change. This exercise helps guide you through a process of self-awareness.

Supplies needed: paper and colored pencils 

Steps:

1. Prepare your space so that you have a flat surface for your paper and comfortable place to sit. 
2. For 3 minutes, on the right side of your paper write a list of personal traits that you love about yourself, or traits that you want to improve upon. 
   • For example: Kind, Creative, Generous…
3. Next, create an image of a flower with large petals, and write the words from your list on the petals
   • You can use a different image of growth like a tree, this is up to you. There really is no right or wrong way to do this.
4. Then, add color to each petal. Focus on the word in that petal as you are coloring in the space. Try to really feel what that word means to you. 
5. Continue for 15 minutes or until you have finished each petal. 
6. Finish the image as you wish.    

Self Reflection:

1. How did the process feel?
2. Where you able to really focus on the positive personal characteristics that you have and ones you want to develop? Remember, we are all a work in progress.
   

References:

• Caregiver stress: Tips for taking care of yourself
• Taking Care of YOU: Self-Care for Family Caregivers