Part of taking care of ourselves is recognizing our mental health concerns. When it comes to mental health issues, we are still only scratching the surface. After so many years of researching Dementia, science responds with an outrageously expensive pharmaceutical treatment. Do we know what causes mental disorders? No. We are still guessing. And yet, we do know how to profit off of the disorders. Although perspectives related to genetic factors are becoming less of the go-to

Self-care and gut health has become quite the buzzwords lately. What these words mean to you may be entirely different to me. What about becoming self-aware? In order for self-care and gut health to work well in our lives, we must be aware of our needs, understand our reactions, and be able to let go of our burdens. The idea of having burdens may sound foreign and you might not recognize them as areas holding you back from being a better caregiver. I know I didn't until I was

Today we're going to talk about Caregiver Spirituality with my guest, Samone Smith. Samone, is a dear friend and fellow caregiver that I was blessed to meet a few years ago when she stepped into our home as one of Mom's senior companions. I felt so much peace on the days she came to visit. Not just because she was relieving me for a couple of hours to recharge but also because she spoke of her life in such a way it helped me to refocus my faith. Caregiving has the potential t

Many of you know I found myself taking that last statement to heart when I took time off to heal from lower back surgery this past April. Although it was the most serious and invasive procedure I have ever experienced it did not make me think of death or dying. Even when the hospital administration and nurses asked about having an Advanced Directive I still did not think about death or my usual "what if" anxiety-driven thought patterns. No. Those thoughts came later when I ha