Serving as a caregiver for a family member, friend, or any person takes abundant wisdom, patience, courage, and the help of God. These Scriptures or quotes, reflections, and prayers for each day are for those who, by nature, circumstances, or profession, are immersed in tending to the physical, emotional, and/or financial needs of others. Nurses, doctors, police, fire, and military personnel--as well as anyone caring for a loved one--will keep this prayer book close at hand to strengthen their compassion and mercy to heal and to suffer with whomever they help.
"A comprehensive, straightforward handbook to help family caregivers with sibling and parent-child communication, end-of-life decision making, and guidance for how to help a loved one medically, financially, and emotionally"--
"Every caregiver's story is unique, but one thing you all have in common is that you need to be nourished to have the resilience and compassion to tend to the needs of those you love. The Caregiver's Companion approaches caregiving not as a burden, but as an opportunity to grow and receive graces and blessings. Written by the founders of Nourish for Caregivers--an organization that seeks to improve the health and spiritual wellbeing of caregivers--this beautifully designed, full-color journal is a practical resource with encouraging readings, prayers, and guided journaling to help you draw strength from your faith in a few sacred moments each day. It is a unique resource to remind you to care for yourself as you care for others. The physical, financial, and emotional demands of caregiving can take an enormous toll, and their high stress levels make caregivers a population at-risk. The Caregiver's Companion provides the encouragement and spiritual nourishment you need to persevere each day--whether your role involves hands-on caregiving, helping from a distance, or lending emotional support to a loved one in an assisted living facility. Each entry in this beautiful full-color guided journal combines prayers, meditations, reflection questions, quotations, and plenty of space for personal journaling, allowing you to capture the highs and lows of your daily experiences"--
Caregiving is hard enough and now we want to throw in traveling together?! Or arranging for a respite? Don't caregivers have enough to do?! Yes we do but traveling or taking a respite is something all five authors have done while caregiving. Oh, it is not easy (understatement alert!). We understand how scary and overwhelming it is - we felt that too. All of us. A lot. It is not easy to overcome those worries and fears but it is definitely worth it. We have been there and want to help you overcome any fear you have about traveling with your loved one or arranging for a caregiving break. We also know that it is truly difficult to leave and sometimes downright impossible. Because of that, we have included tips for your mental and physical well-being while staying at home. Whatever you choose to do, know there are others on this caregiving journey with you and we are here to help. We are in this together! Connect with us at www.365CaregivingTips.com
In a few short minutes, the Scripture quotes, passages from Church documents, and thoughts from the Saints which begin the days in this book will provide comfort and guidance for married couples as they seek to live their vocation to the fullest. A brief reflection and prayer complete this dynamic daily practice.
Based on Dr. Wolfelt's unique and highly regarded philosophy of "companioning" versus treating mourners, this self-care guide for professional and lay grief caregivers emphasizes the importance of taking good care of oneself as a precursor to taking good care of others. Bereavement care is draining work, and remaining empathetic to the painful struggles of mourners, death, and dying, day in and day out, makes caregivers highly susceptible to burnout. This book demonstrates how caring for oneself first allows one to be a more effective caregiver to others. Through the advice, suggestions, and practices directed specifically to caregiving situations and needs, caregivers will learn not to lose sight of caring for themselves as they care for others.
2022 Revised Edition Who are the caregivers? We all are, for at the heart of being human is the capacity to care, to reach out to others and explore the relationships we build. The Soul of Caregiving is about us, and how we, as caregivers, serve, even sacrifice, for those in need. I invite you to explore with me how we can partake in a kind of sacred journey exploring our experiences as caregivers. Who will be your guide on this journey? Unlike other pilgrims who have a guide assigned to them, you will soon discover it is your own Soul guiding you. We may be professionally skilled to meet the needs of others, but we must also learn to stop and rest. It is not a waste of time, but rather, a necessity. We need time to ponder, reflect, and grow from our experiences. Not an easy endeavor amid a whirlwind of activity. We, as caregivers, experience vulnerability, helplessness, fears, and pain over the traumatic events we experience because we care. We care about those whom we are called to serve. Compassion fatigue arises because we care. Overview of the Chapters Chapter 1 begins by outlying the tension most caregivers experience: the tension their own needs and the needs of those they care for. I call this tension the Dance of Caregiving. Chapter 2 discusses the importance of discovering interior strengths and values where one discovers Soul. Chapter 3 emphasizes caregivers do not care in a vacuum, as there are broad cultural boundaries and expectations which affect them and shape their behaviors. Chapter 4 describes The Archetype of Caregiving, both its strengths and shadow sides. This archetype also relates to several other leadership archetypes, which are also discussed. Chapter 5 discusses hospitality. This chapter positions the caregiver as the host who experiences three different dimensions of hospitality: to host the stranger, to listen to the stories of the guest, and to reflect on their reactions and experiences. Chapter 6 address the frailty of humankind and the notion that we are wounded healers. Chapter 7 addresses the art of reflection as a fundamental skill for caregivers. Chapter 8 argues that the essential actions of a caregiver are spiritual. Chapter 9 explores how the ordinary becomes spiritual as inner strengths and values give birth to meaning, insight, and transformation. Chapter 10 explores compassion fatigue and its two sisters, secondary traumatic stress disorder and burnout. In this chapter, we learn how to recover from compassion fatigue and burnout by building compassion resilience. At the end of each chapter, the reader is invited to ponder and reflect. Your insights are the gold hidden beneath the sands of confusion. Mining these insights will lead to a greater understanding of your strengths and values. The questions at the end of each chapter help facilitate this process.
Over fifty million caregivers spend every spare minute driving to medical appointments, stopping at the pharmacy, cooking, answering questions, paying bills, and helping with matters that used to be private. They feel trapped in an endless loop and need to release the stress of caregiving. B. Lynn Goodwins new book, You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers allows users to process their stress and celebrate what is right. It gives readers open-ended instructions on spilling their guts in the safety of a private journal and offers two hundred sentence starts to help them begin writing. Caring for oneself is as essential as breathing, but caregivers lose sight of that fact. Think of the flight attendant who says, Put on your own oxygen mask before helping those around you. Journaling is a caregivers oxygen mask, which You Want Me to Do What? provides.
