When it rains it pours.  Or…  What else could happen? 

Just as Denis and I were starting to settle in to this new normal, this past week was tough.  For a couple weeks, we have been getting caught up with our rest and enjoying our home and fur babies.  I was getting used to my routine of wiping everything down, vacuuming each day changing up the towels and sheets and making sure our home stayed germ free.   I also was setting into my work and business.   

Then something wasn’t right with Daisy, our 9 year old lab.  She wasn’t herself.  At first we thought she was just missing Gramma and adjusting back to us being home.  But we noticed she was sleeping alot more and not eating as much.  Then she got sicker.  By Tuesday of last week, we were in the vet.

How often have you been in a crisis situation or maybe an emergency as a caregiver?  Something unexpected and is disrupts your caregiving and causes major issues or stressors.  

When I sat and thought about it, I actually could think of many.  What about you?   Like I said when it rains, it can pour sometimes.  

I would love to hear from you on yours.  That crisis situation that occurred or that extra challenge or struggle that you look back at now and think - how in the heck did I handle this?  

When life throws you another challenges, your normal reaction is to think “ why is this happening to me - couldn’t this just wait?   My cup is already full and now it’s overflowing”  

It’s a normal reaction to get frustrated, angry, upset, and more.   You’re human and doing the best you can as a caregiver and now it’s more.   I had to become a dog caregiver last week.  Denis couldn’t go to the vet due to his immunity.  I brought Daisy each day to/from the vet hospital, cleaned up her messes (Denis couldn’t), took the call updates, administered the iv therapy, meds and sat with her at night.     

There were days I was ok but other days my emotions and nerves were shot.   I had to go to work during this time.  I had to do my caregiver responsibilities and I even went for my yearly physical.   But I wasn’t myself.     You really find out how you handle extra stresses.  How do you handle your extra stressors?  

It got me thinking about what this extra stress can do to your body though.  It’s not normal for you or I to handle the excessive stresses that we do have to handle.  Right?  

Your body takes in the stress through your adrenal glands that make and release the hormone cortisol into your bloodstream  Often this stress hormone, cortisol causes an increase in your heart rate and blood pressures.  It’s your natural “flight or fight” response.  

So let’s do a bit of a science lesson here….

Normal levels of cortisol also are released when you wake up in the morning or exercise. These levels can help regulate your blood pressure and blood sugar levels and even strengthen your heart muscle. In small doses, the hormone can heighten memory, increase your immune system and lower sensitivity to pain.

The danger of a fast-paced culture, however, is that many of us are constantly in high-stress mode. If your body experiences chronic stress, you may begin to feel unpleasant and even dangerous effects, such as:

• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Intestinal problems, such as constipation, bloating or diarrhea
• Anxiety or depression
• Weight gain
• Increased blood pressure
• Low libido or problems with regular ovulation or menstrual periods
• Difficulty recovering from exercise
• Poor sleep

How Cortisol Works… When the adrenal glands release cortisol into your bloodstream, the hormone triggers a flood of glucose that supplies an immediate energy source to your large muscles. It also inhibits insulin production so the glucose won’t be stored but will be available for immediate use.

Cortisol narrows the arteries, while another hormone, epinephrine, increases your heart rate. Working together, they force your blood to pump harder and faster as you confront and resolve the immediate threat.

If your entire life is high-stress and always in high gear, your body may constantly pump out cortisol. This has several negative effects.

• Increased blood sugar levels. Insulin typically helps the cells convert glucose to energy. As your pancreas struggles to keep up with the high demand for insulin, glucose levels in your blood remain high and your cells don’t get the sugar they need to perform at their best.

• Weight gain. As your cells are crying out for energy, your body may send signals to the brain that you are hungry and need to eat. Studies have demonstrated a direct association between cortisol levels and calorie intake in populations of women. False hunger signals can lead you to crave high-calorie foods, overeat and thus gain weight. Unused glucose in the blood is eventually stored as body fat.

• Suppressed immune system. Cortisol’s positive action to reduce inflammation in the body can turn against you if your levels are too high for too long. The elevated levels may actually suppress your immune system. You could be more susceptible to colds and contagious illnesses. Your risk of cancer and autoimmune diseases increases and you may develop food allergies.

• Digestive problems. When your body reacts to a threat, it shuts down other less critical functions, such as digestion. If the high-stress level is constant, your digestive tract can’t digest or absorb food well. It’s no coincidence that ulcers occur during stressful times and people with colitis or irritable bowel syndrome report better symptom control when they get their stress under control.

• Heart disease. Constricted arteries and high blood pressure can lead to blood vessel damage and plaque buildup in your arteries. They could be setting the stage for a heart attack or stroke.

So friend, pay attention to this.  Take a mental check of yourself over the last few weeks/months

So how do you get through these extra crisises or challenges that add to an already stressful caregiving journey.  

You can go get your cortisol checked - I did a couple years ago and take supplements to help my adrenal glands.  

But it really come downs to managing yourself through the stress.   Keeping your body’s reactions to stress low.  

No one can give you the exacts steps to that - you have to find what works best to  you.   But as a caregiving coach, I would tell you what are you doing each day to lower your stress and feeding your positive energy.   What are you doing to fill your cup.  Putting the right things in your cup will help your body’s cortisol levels lower.  

Daisy girl passed away on March 9.  All I wanted to do is go to bed and roll up in a ball.   I did - but after a short nap, I went for a walk.   I breathed in the fresh air and let the sunshine soak in on my face.  I journaled gratitude for all the people and things that happened over the last challenging week.   I feed my body with good nutrition knowing things were hard.  I drank lots of water - had to since I balled my eyes out for a week.  

When the sump pump stopped working and the basement flooded, I called my sons over to help with the cleaning of the basement.  I called my friend and vented and accepted her offer to bring over food.  

There are many days where I took a mental health day to rest my body and mind.  Recharge is so important  Listen to episode 59 for more info.  R:  Rest. E: eat right, C communicate, H hydrate, A - accept help, R- respite, G- get sleep, E - exercise  

To end today, I want to share a message that I hear from Rachel Hollis in her episode called “A Quick Word On Hard Seasons.  Our life can be like the four seasons.  We will have sunshine and summer where everything is great and going well.  But there are seasons of Fall where things are falling and then winter comes.  If you feel like that  - you are not alone.  It’s very normal. We as caregivers experience winter where there are personal and emotional experiences that feel like winter  Winter is cold, dark, dreary and we hibernate sometimes.  I want you to hold on and work through it - Spring is coming .  Every single winter will always be followed by spring.  Winter will not last forever.  As you start to feel things unthaw and come back to life, see the sun come out for you.   Take that ray of lite or that bit of warmth as hope that Spring is coming.   Think about Spring.  It may still be muddy but the air smells better, the sunshine and days are longer.  You see buds on trees and hear birds chirping.  Hold on and know that your spring season will come and as you care for your self (through your preferred self-care), you can embrace moments of joy.