Self-Care 2

Being a caregiver is often exhausting. Both physically and emotionally.

Caregivers need to take care of themselves. It's a cliche for a reason, but you can't get water from a dry well.

Keeping ourselves in good shape emotionally and physically can be a challenge.

Today, let's talk about how to do some easy at-home self-care by being silly.

Here are a few things you can search for online that might get you and maybe even your Loved One in a silly mood.

• baby goat videos
• goat sings Whitney Houston (trust me on this one!)
• jokes for kids
• knock knock jokes - if your Loved One is still able to read, have them do the reading while you do the answer part, they'll enjoy it more
• silly jokes about summer (winter, Christmas, birthdays, Halloween, sports, food...)
• blooper reels for your favourite TV shows or movies
• kids laughing
• sports gone wrong
• pandas
• silly animals

(Photo by Antevasin Nguyen on Unsplash)

Of course, you don't have to go online to get silly.

• have a dance party to music from all different generations and styles (Lizzie is in a wheelchair but she still loves to dance!)
• talk about memories of silly times
• sing songs from childhood (Row your boat, Doh a Deer, Itsy Bitsy...) and make up the words if you can't remember them
• draw silly pictures (combine an alligator & mouse into a new animal, draw a squiggle & turn it into a picture)
• write a silly story and add in drawings (Once upon a time there was a raccoon who wanted to meet Lizzie for tea...)
• tongue twisters (red leather, yellow leather always gets me!)
• limericks (There is a young lady named Lizze, who keeps her daughter in a tizzy, they love to sing songs, the shorts & the longs, and Lizzie keeps everyone busy!). Obviously they don't have to be perfect!

There's really nothing quite as healing as a good belly laugh!

Check out the book Dancing With Dementia for more easy self-care tips.

How about you? Any more ideas about silly things to search for? Any other ways to get a good belly laugh?

Self-Care 1

Taking care of someone with Dementia creates a lot of strong feelings.

If you're a caregiver living in the same home with your Loved One, I can only imagine the range of feelings is incredibly intense.

Through our own experiences and from my conversations with others, many caregivers and family members feel:

• worry
• anxiety
• fear 
• grief
• love
• joy
• panic
• peace
• helplessness
• loneliness
• exhaustion
• and so many more

Through those conversations, it appears that the negative emotions often overwhelm the positive emotions, especially when the caregiver is worn out.

So, how do we create some easy self-care?

For today let's focus on online ideas because we know that some people never have a chance to get out and about.

• Teepa Snow videos. She is brilliant and considered the leading expert on Dementia for a very good reason
• my own Quick Tips videos
• if you're on social media, you can check to see if there on support groups. Read the rules carefully to ensure you're going to feel safe in posting. Tread carefully at the beginning because not all online groups are created equally!
• check out the Alzheimer's sites for ideas to help you cope
• meditation apps and exercises
• I've used Calm and Triangle breathing successfully with students at school
• there are lots of options out there, keep looking until you find one that works for you

How about you? What other online supports do you use? Any experience with meditation apps?