By: Jennifer Beach, LSW, MA, C-SWCM
The new year is well underway, and despite our best efforts, it seems we’re still up against many of the same challenges. COVID keeps rearing its ugly head back into our lives and it places an extra burden on the mental health and well-being of many people, especially individuals who are chronically ill and have dementia. Perhaps it’s taking an even greater toll on their caregivers.
An American Psychiatric Association public opinion poll in 2020 found that 62% of American adults felt more anxiety than the year before. Another poll found that one-third of Americans rated their mental health as only fair or poor. This trend is likely to continue in 2022. This means the uncertainty and change we’re experiencing now are likely to continue and could cause an increase in anxiety, frustration, and fatigue This can negatively affect our physical health and the quality of daily life.
Would you like to try something different as this new year kicks off and uncertainty continues to be knocking at our doors? Sometimes we are overloaded with information, resources, and things we should be doing. But often as a caregiver, we find ourselves too exhausted to even make sense of all the information, so we simply continue to do what we have been doing.
Consider trying or sharing with someone you know who is in the trenches of caring for a loved one some of these no-nonsense, no-hassle, no-cost ideas:
- Learn to breathe like a baby. We take around 25,000 breaths a day, but most of us are doing it wrong. James Nestor author of New York Times bestselling book Breath found in his research making a few simple adjustments to the way we breathe can have a massive impact on everything from our health to our mood.
Practice breathing in through your nose directly into to your abdomen, like a baby. When we watch a baby breathe, we see their abdomens rise and fall, same thing when you watch a dog or cat. Breathing through the belly is our way of regulating our nervous system and activating our parasympathetic nervous system which keeps us calm, rested and relaxed. You should feel your stomach rise and fall with each breath. To learn more, Emma Ferris, a physiotherapist and breathing coach, offers a free breathing quiz and questionnaire at thebreatheffect.com.
- Cheer someone Up: You may ask why. As a caregiver, you likely could use some cheering up yourself. There is a tremendous amount of research to support the physical and mental health benefits of spreading cheer to others. Simple kind gestures improve our self-esteem, and often, we tend to get back what we give in life.
What are ways we can cheer someone up?
- Hold the door open
- Let someone in your lane
- Express gratitude for something that’s too often taken for granted
- Tell a joke
- Turn off the TV and play uplifting music
- Listen to an inspiring podcast and share it with a friend
- Give flowers (just because)
- Give a hug
- Do a boring task for someone to lighten their load
- Smile
- Say “thank you”
- Tell someone why they are important to you
- Help someone find something they are grateful for
- Help someone do something for someone else
There are endless small, simple things we can do differently this year. Recognizing and trying new things is half the battle. Try breathing like a baby and find ways to cheer someone else up. You may be surprised at the gifts you are giving yourself (and others) this year, no matter what the challenges and uncertainties may be!
Original Article: https://www.northeastohioboomer.com/blogs/new-year-same-problems-time-for-a-new-approach/