Statistics Canada reports that over 8 million Canadians provide care to a chronically ill or disabled friend or loved one. At Sunnybrook’s latest Speaker Series, Caregiver Wellness: Fueling Your Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Well Being, a leading panel of experts provided some guidance on good nutrition, emotional supports, healthy coping strategies and community resources for caregivers.
Being a caregiver can reconstruct the ‘landscape’ of your life while caring for a loved one, says Wes Roberts, a Chaplain in Sunnybrook’s Veterans Centre. He says being a caregiver can mean making many sacrifices, medical and treatment decisions, arranging appointments and locating necessary resources. It can demand time, energy and commitment. As caregivers can experience a host of positive and negative emotions, Roberts offers some helpful coping strategies:
- share your story
- identify and acknowledge specific feelings
- focus on only one worry at a time
- communicate to the health care team what “good care” means and looks like to you
- foster rituals and practices that are nurturing and fulfilling
- seek out supportive situations
- take advantage of moments of life-review
- breathe
- keep a “gratitude” journal
Roberts quotes Darcie Sims in summarizing that “Hope is that elusive something that keeps us moving forward even in the dark.”
