It’s a cultural norm to reply that we’re “fine” when asked how we’re doing, even if that isn’t always an accurate answer. Caregivers find themselves hiding behind the “I’m fine!” mask even more often than others. In this episode, Justin and Allison discuss the reasons why, how caregivers can begin to say how they really are, and what supporters can do to help.
Even as they do so much for their loved ones, a common feeling experienced by caregivers is guilt. In this episode, Justin and Allison talk about feeling as if they are never doing enough, about how comparison can be dangerous, and the role that guilt plays in their caregiving lives.
Over the past year, Allison has been experiencing increasingly severe panic attacks as well as feeling physically run down. In March, she reached a breaking point that led her to take a month off of work. In this episode, she shares what those challenging weeks were like and what she is doing to heal.
After living with depression and anxiety for many years, Justin recently began a thirty-six day regimen of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). In this episode he shares how he came to the decision to try this course of treatment, what it’s been like so far, and how it has felt to be the one in need of care.
Special guest, Liz Naylor, mother of four children with myotonic muscular dystrophy and Founding Executive Director of My-Vida, joins Allison and Justin to talk about what caregiving looks like from the parent perspective.
Allison and Justin talk about how caregivers need community care in order to practice self care, how they each practice acts of micro-care throughout the day, and what supporters can do and say instead of, “Are you taking care of yourself?”