Oncologist Dr. Arjun Gupta’s team has coined the term “time toxicity,”which refers to the significant time investment required for cancer patients and their caregivers to undergo cancer treatment and related activities. In this episode, he talks with Allison and Justin about how he came to be invested in the needs of caregivers and what his team has learned and hopes to accomplish with their research on time toxicity. Note: while Dr. Gupta’s research focuses on cancer patients and caregivers, his learnings transfer to many if not all types of caregivers.
Many caregivers end up caring for not just one, but multiple family members, often concurrently. In this episode, Justin and Allison discuss how and why this happens, the impact this can have on caregivers, the boundaries that can be established, and the adaptations that can be made, as well as how supporters can help.
When going through the challenges of caregiving, it’s common for caregivers to struggle to find a safe place to vent. Caregivers may hesitate to share with their loved one, friends may not get it, and some are worried to burden other caregivers with their hard things. Despite all of this, not venting isn’t an option. In this episode, Allison and Justin discuss all of this as well as strategies for both caregivers and supporters.
Trauma-informed yoga therapist, Jacqueline Vlietstra talks with Justin and Allison about the basics of nervous system regulation, how short and long-term caregiving impacts our nervous systems, and ways in which caregivers can find wellbeing in the midst of it all.
As caregivers, it can feel as if our loved one’s health is in the driver’s seat and that there are few parts of our lives over which we have control. In this episode, Allison and Justin share ways in which they have been maintaining or taking back their agency in various aspects of their lives and how supporters can help.
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?”