Emotional self-care is about identifying how you are feeling and then honoring those emotions by caring for them. Practicing emotional self-care looks like respecting boundaries, forgiving yourself and others, seeking laughter, processing your emotions through writing, being vulnerable, having self-compassion, expressing gratitude, acting kind, sitting with grief, and giving yourself space to feel the feels. Below are the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast episodes, blog posts, product ideas, and other resources to help you with your emotional self-care.
Podcast Episodes
Can Burnout Be a Blessing?
Carrie Severson is a caregiver to her husband Gavin and a recognized expert in burnout. Carrie shares how her personal caregiving journey inspired her advocacy work, storytelling, and her podcast, I Saved You. Now, Do the Dishes. We dive into the difference between caregiver burnout and the entrepreneurial burnout Carrie previously experienced and spoke about. She also recounts a shocking experience with a disruptive healthcare professional and how she successfully had them removed from her care team. Plus, Carrie reveals some of her go-to self-care practices, including cold therapy, box breathing, and using music as a powerful healing tool.
Improvising Care
Jennifer Cain Birkmose is a sandwich-generation caregiver juggling the responsibilities of caring for loved ones in two different countries and life stages while employing two distinct caregiving styles. She is also an improv comedian and instructor, with over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry. In this episode of the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast, we explore how Jennifer integrates her professional skills into her challenging daily caregiving routine. We also delve into her digital eldercare platform, which provides trusted services to ‘olders’ in Illinois, and discuss her all-star care team that, despite their expertise, still faces the intense demands of caregiving. And, we learn how Jennifer’s mindset and actions help her navigate and stay afloat amidst these pressures.
Supporting Caregiving Mothers
Jessica Patay, a reformed perfectionist and dedicated caregiving mother, provides compassionate support and resources to other moms caring for children with disabilities or unique needs. In this episode of the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast, Jessica shares how she manages and supports her son Ryan, who has a rare genetic condition called Prader-Willi syndrome, while maintaining her own well-being. We discussed helpful and unhelpful language from friends and family and explored the various ways caregiving mothers can find support through Jessica’s community, book, podcast, and retreats. Jessica also highlights the difference between self-care and self-comfort.
Video 1: https://youtu.be/S6Q84DqcFBM
The box contained the following:
- Chair Lift
- Charger
- Hand Controller with rechargeable batteries
- Suction Cup Hook for the Hand Controller
- Instruction booklet
The chair’s online description says it weighs 30 lbs, but I didn’t feel like it weighed that much. Honestly, if it weighed less, I may question its stability. I used the built-in handle to carry it from one room to another. Someone without upper body strength may need assistance moving this lift from one spot to another.
For individuals like my parents, who lived in two seasonal homes, keeping the box would be a great way to transport the lift to each location.
The Electric Chair Lift in Action
I wanted to ensure it was working correctly, so I ran an entire up-and-down practice run without anyone on the electric chair lift. I was surprised at how quiet the lift was! Sometimes, noises alone can be frightening, particularly for individuals who are neurodivergent or living with a cognitive impairment.
I’m grateful to my husband, Jason, for demonstrating how this could appear for a care recipient requiring assistance from the floor and receiving support from their family or professional caregiver.
Video 2: https://youtu.be/QwPxEvfxdCM
The electric chair lift operates without plugging in. Caregivers only need to charge the handheld remote and connect it to the top of the chair when needed. The handheld remote takes 2.5 hours to charge when completely drained. A full charge is expected to last 15 days.
You Can Use this in the Tub!
The design and material of this MAIDeSITe electric chair lift make it fully waterproof.
Nobody enjoyed a bath more than my grandma. When her mobility declined, she relied primarily on sponge baths. She would have tried if she had known something like this lift chair was available. After all, my grandma was a modern woman. In her 60s and 70s, she drove sports cars like Mustangs and Thunderbirds!
Here’s a video of me demonstrating how I got out of the tub using the MAIDeSITe electric chair lift.
Video 3: https://youtu.be/6l9aryMckRg
Six suction cups at the bottom of the chair keep it secure to the tub floor. Like most suction cups, there are little tabs you pull out when ready to relocate or store the chair. This chair fits upright at the bottom of our guest bedroom closet.
A Potential Peace of Mind Investment
Sometimes, I wonder if my mom’s mobility declined fast because she feared falling, so the less she moved, the less likely she was to have a fall. I could see where this electric lift chair would help those prone to falling or compromised mobility feel confident that they could get back up with a support person nearby if they fell in their home.
This chair’s maximum lift height is 20 inches. I recommend measuring the height of your couch, bed, and bathtub to ensure this height is sufficient for your needs. This lift can assist a person who weighs up to 300 lbs.
The MAIDeSITe Electric Chair Lift retails for around $400. Learn more about this product and read customer reviews in the MAIDeSITe Amazon store.
Let me know if you have any questions I haven’t answered in this review.
- Speak Your Truth – Allison Breininger
- Stop Judging – Sabrina Ortolano
- Shifting Family Roles – Edla Prevette
- New Perspectives from Caregiving – Matt Perrin
- Recovering from Burnout – Usha Tewari
- Hope for Caregivers – Peter Rosenberger
- Healthy Shame-Free Boundaries – Karen Anderson
- Healing Powers of Nature – Lisa Nigro
HHC Emotional Support Options
- Check out our upcoming events.
- 1:1 Caregiver Coaching – first 30-minute session is complimentary. Schedule your initial session or review additional coaching options.
- If you live in the Atlanta, GA area, you are invited to in-person caregiver programs through ACAP (Adult Children of Aging Parents). Learn more here.
- Join our email list and receive support and resources direct to your inbox.
- Elizabeth, along with two other Certified Caregiving Consultants, offers support and encouragement through the Self-Care Support for Caregivers FB Group.
Articles
From The Gift Shop
Books
For a Pick Me Up
- Just for You: a Daily Self-Care Journal by Elizabeth Miller
- Self Care for Caregivers by Susanne White
- Navigating the Caregiver River: a Journey to Sustainable Caregiving by Theresa Wilbanks
- Good Grief: a Companion for Ever Loss by Granger E. Westberg
- The 36 Hour Day by Nancy L. Mace
- You’re a Caregiver Not a Saint by Lori Ramos Lemasters
- Your Caregiver Relationship Contract: How to navigate the minefield of new roles and expectations by Debra Hallisey
Other Emotional Self-Care Resources
- Digital Course: Six Steps to Infusing Self-Care into Your Caregiving Life
- Nominate a family caregiver or yourself for a free caregiver respite retreat through Brutally Beautiful (national) or Nancy’s House (PA, NJ, and DE)
- Send someone who is providing care a caregiving card created by Senior Shower Project
- Daughterhood Drop-Ins – virtual support for family caregivers
