What do you do when you are in a funk, super overstressed, and are stuck in this bad space? 

Affirmations are a self-help strategy used to prompt self-confidence and belief in your own abilities.  They're positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging  and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often, and believe in them, you can start to make positive changes.

Affirmation can help you shift your mindset.  Help you believe yourself even when you are fearful or have failed.   

Neuroplasticity, or your brain’s ability to change and adapt to different circumstances throughout your life, offers a clue to help understand not only what makes affirmations work, but how to make them more effective.

Your brain sometimes gets a little mixed up on the difference between reality and imagination, which can be surprisingly useful.

Creating a mental image of yourself doing something activates many of the same brain areas that actually experiencing these situations would.

Regular repetition of affirming statements about yourself can encourage your brain to take these positive affirmations as fact. When you truly believe you can do something, your actions often follow.

Using affirmation before any event, may help you feel more relaxed and help you avoid those negative thoughts or doubts that enter your mind.  

There are many ways to put affirmations into your daily habits.  Repeating an affirmation can help boost your motivation and confidence, but you still have to take some action yourself. Try thinking of affirmations as a step toward change, not the change itself.

Affirmation practices you can use: 

• Affirmations with Visualization . 
•  Affirmations help setting personal goals . 
• Journaling Gratitude with affirmation
•  Find a quiet spot and journal "I am….".   
•  Morning or evening routines
• Add in activity with your affirmations  

Trouble...

Toxic thinking can affect you more than you know. Negative thoughts rob you of joy and leave you hopeless for any positive outcome. 

Your pattern of thought influences the quality of your life (and your loved ones). Your thinking can also affect your health, sleep patterns, anxiety levels, and more.

When you recognize you're thinking toxic and it’s affecting your well-being, you can start practicing techniques to remove your toxic thoughts

How Toxic Is Your Thinking?
You declare your thoughts through words—sometimes in conversation with others and other times silently to yourself only. Whatever it may be, pay attention and listen to yourself. Do you find yourself saying these things to yourself or others?

• “I don’t have what it takes. I am not good enough.”
• “I am afraid that I will be______.”
• “I didn’t do it perfectly, so I’m a failure.”
• “What if I can’t finish in time?”
• “But I might fail.”
• “My behavior is not hurting anybody.”
• “Sure, I did that, but it was because [someone else did or didn’t do something].”
• “Why is this happening to me? I deserve better than this.”
• “It’s too late to ____. I cannot change now.”
• “I’m just too busy. I’ll do it later.”
• “Nobody cares about me.”
• “Everything I do fails.”
• “What do other people think about me?”
• “They have it so much better than I do.”
• “If I could only _____, then I would be happy.”

As Caregivers, you're very much vulnerable to stress, anger and many other negative emotions due to the nature of our situation.  Think about your Loved One.  They may have a chronic disease, dementia, PTSD, elderly or recovering from an injury/surgery.  They will have good days and bad days.  Their mood and emotions can challenge us 

It's not enough to eliminate toxic...

Just 4 weeks after starting my caregiving journey, I stood at the starting line to run my half marathon.  I struggled, cried, and just about quit until I got to mile 10.  

I was numb.   I was lost.   I felt like I lost my purpose.   I was faking everything.   I was supposed to be the supportive wife - Denis was the one sick and needed me.   

I remember getting up on that October Saturday morning and it gray, cloudy with drizzly rain.   It was time to run my half marathon that I trained 12 weeks for.  The only issue is that the last 4 weeks were a total mess.   My Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Then Denis was diagnosed with CLL.   In those 4 weeks, I was  trying to work, run my business, going to doctor appointments and chemotherapy.  I didn’t run much in the last 4 weeks and my nutrition and diet was terrible.   When you ramp up to race day,  your main focus should be getting your body ready physically, nutritionally and mentally and I was so distracted.   Who wouldn’t be.    But I was committed to this race and even if I have to walk it, I will do it.  

With the rain, I wore one of those plastic ponchos over my running shorts, and tank top.  It was a humid 55 degrees at the starting line.   The starting line was filled with women runners for the annual breast cancer run and everyone was listening to the “pump up” music and then the national anthem.   It took me a few minutes to feel the emotions of starting a race, but this time it was way different.    I felt nervous, stressed, worried and dreading my passion.    Denis was standing on the sideline smiling like he always does.   This guy is going through cancer and he is supporting me.   I felt so much guilty at that moment.  

The gun goes off and the race begins.   My feet and legs were so...

My caregiving journey started in September 2017.  Life went from normal to being tossed in the air falling apart.   I know that’s pretty dramatic, but that was reality.   

It meant immediate action mode to help my spouse fight cancer.   I learned the many roles of Caregiver fast (scheduler, advocate, chauffeur, nurse)  plus all the medical terminologies and procedures ( biopsies, hematology, chemotherapy, CT scans, PET scans).

In the midst of this, I felt like I was riding a roller coaster.  My emotions went from shock to lack of focus to sadness to denial to worry to anger and more.   Then when I felt like I could manage my emotions, overwhelm and exhaustion became my new visitor.  

In today’s episode, I’m sharing the one thing that shifted me in the right direction.   I took 15 minutes and sat down with a notebook and pen and reflected on the big picture. 

Get my FREE “big picture” handout that will get you to see where you were, where you are and gets you working towards a better version of you in this caregiving journey.

Let’s get to this big picture episode!

Reflecting on the year gone by is not just an exercise in nostalgia; it's a powerful caregiver practice that enables personal growth and resilience. In the latest episode of the Caregiver Cup podcast, we delve into the intimate journey of reflecting on the past year's experiences, both the highs and lows, and how they can inform our caregiver path moving forward.

I share my moments of pride such as setting a retirement date and maintaining podcast consistency. You can see the transformative power of positivity and the importance of celebrating even the smallest successes. These personal stories are not only relatable but also serve as inspiration to journal your own triumphs and to cherish the memories that have made a lasting impact.

Throughout the episode, I share thought-provoking questions that serve to uncover areas of personal growth and the often overlooked moments of joy that arise from regular self-care practices. By guiding you through a reflective practice, the episode underscores the importance of introspection in understanding our patterns and behaviors as caregivers. It's a process that acknowledges our need for self-care and emotional attentiveness, something that can easily be lost in the demands of caregiving.

The episode also covers the necessity of confronting the challenges faced throughout the year. Instead of dwelling on the negative, we're encouraged to recognize patterns, understand what may have been overlooked, and identify opportunities for growth. It's about taking an honest look at the year, acknowledging what it was, and using this understanding to move forward with intention and clarity.

In addition to reflection, we discuss practical strategies for simplifying life and embracing self-improvement. I share tips on decluttering, creating schedules, and finding new ways to stay connected with friends and loved ones. The discussion extends to finding joy in new hobbies and connections, emphasizing that change can come from...