ARE YOU BALANCED?

The topic of our conversation this week in our Tuesday Self-Care group was how to keep your life in balance. Ask yourself whether your life is in balance or not? In order for a Raregiver to lead a relatively balanced life, you need to ask for help. This can be challenging because you may not even know what kind of help you need. Be willing to take the time to reflect on what it is that you need because if you do, clarity will come.

The wheel of life

When you look at your wheel of life which includes the categories of career, financial, spiritual, physical, intellectual, family, and social; what do you notice? If you were to rank each of these categories from 1-10, which areas would receive a high number? Where are you fulfilled and where are you unfulfilled?

Tending to yourself

One of our Raregivers mentioned that back when her boys were little, she only had three pieces of the wheel. These included faith, family, and caring for her home. She acknowledged that by the time her three boys had passed away, she had passed too. She said she had disappeared. In order to stay alive and present, you must include yourself in the equation.

Balance is fluid

In the wheel of life achieving balance and fulfillment is fluid. Take some time to pause and check in with yourself. Ask yourself, "what do I need?” Maybe you need more time alone or maybe it is some social connection that you are seeking. Be willing to take risks and learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. This is how we grow.

“I don't have time”

If you find yourself saying that you just don't have time to take care of yourself, pause and see if this is really true. If you don’t take care of yourself, who will? You can make the time. It can just be little snippets of time. In our Raregivers community, we talk about taking sips of self-care. You might choose to get up 15 minutes earlier than your Rare child, so that you will have space to fill your own cup. By doing this, you are making yourself a priority.

Create teams

When you create a team, you have someone you can ask for help. You can also ask your neurotypical children to help you with your rare child. Although your neurotypical teenager may grumble when you ask for their help, it will benefit them in the long run. Ask them to help you with practical things and take care not to lean on them for emotional support. This is where a therapist or priest can serve you. Your partner is on your team, medical professionals, as well as other caregivers. Remember, you cannot do this alone in a way that is sustainable for you or your Rare family.

Coming Up August 20th: Building A Sustainable Structure

Creating a sustainable structure begins by reducing our activities and commitments. This may seem counterintuitive to most Raregivers because they want to do it all. However, smart reduction actually equals increased energy that can be used for self-care. As a Raregiver, you also need to replenish your reserves in order to be strong for your family. Finally, you can restructure your environment to support healthy bodies and minds with nurturing self-care. Join us and gain practical tools for leading a sustainable life as a Raregiver.

Please Join Us

You may not realize how much you need the Raregivers community until you find it.

Zoom Link: Click Here

We look forward to being with you soon.

Sending blessings your way...