FEELING ISOLATED
It is common to feel isolated as a Raregiver. Perhaps you are carrying the burden of many feelings and not having anyone to talk to who understands what you are going through. You are not alone, we here at Raregivers's understand and are here for you.
Losing connections 𓆩♡𓆪
When you become a Raregiver, you may stop working at your job and consequently, experience a loss of professional colleagues and friends from your job. This necessitates making new friends who get you and who will walk with you through hard times.
Types of isolation 𓆩♡𓆪
It's possible to feel more isolated when you are with other people than when you are by yourself, especially if you are with people who have neurotypical families. At home you can be in your rhythm with your Rare child. Maybe they listen to a story while you walk on your treadmill.
It is important to find your Raregiver friends and communities. It's a wonderful thing to have people that you can text at any moment who can understand what's happening for you. You may find that you are less and less involved with old friends from high school or college because they can't relate. Different social groups offer you different things. Maybe you have one group of friends that does research on their Rare child’s disease and you can talk about the progression of the disease and all the details that go along with it.
Tracking 𓆩♡𓆪
Having a friend who tracks your day-to-day goings on can help you feel less isolated. It can be useful to connect about mundane things so that you feel you are not alone. You may find that you need to be selective about where and with whom you invest your energy. As a Raregiver, you will see who is able to show up for you. You might be surprised and hurt by who can't show up. Maybe you have family members that just can’t while there are strangers who show up generously for you and your family. Accept what people are able to give and be grateful. When people give it nourishes them. See if you can allow people to give to you. Giving is a gift that gives both ways and creates connection.
Mindset 𓆩♡𓆪
One of the most helpful things you can do for yourself and your rare family is have a positive mindset. You can learn to turn off negative thoughts and not follow them. Negative thoughts can take you down dark alleyways that cause suffering. It takes discipline to refrain from indulging in words like always, and never. If you think to yourself, “this will never change” or “I will always be stuck in this situation,” you can be sure your thoughts are not trustworthy. Always, and never are buzzwords that can help you to pause and ask yourself, "Is this true?”
Coming up next week: How Caregiving Impacts Your Whole Life
How are you spending your time and does it nourish you as a human being who is also a Raregiver? Typically, time and satisfaction correlate, but not always with Raregivers. As a Raregiver, you could be spending too much time and energy on family and not enough in other areas, creating an unbalanced wheel of life. Let’s explore the places where you may feel somewhat out of balance and hone in on where you can use your resources more wisely and where you need to ask for help. This will be a powerful session where you will discover new things about yourself and learn how to implement new ways of being that will support you as a whole person.
Please Join Us for the Women's Empowerment Circle every Tuesday at 10am PST
You may not realize how much you need the Raregivers community until you find it.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88974713173
We look forward to being with you soon.
𓆩♡𓆪 𓆩♡𓆪 𓆩♡𓆪