I have started to turn some focus on my own diet, mental health and wellness. I am fueled by my thoughts of not wanting to put my daughter in the same situation that I am sandwiched in. Now, I realized this cannot always be helped but I want to take care of myself the best way I know how so I don't need care. I cannot say my mom intentionally put me in this position because I made the choice to care for her as much as I think I am a victim of this circumstance. I often have thoughts that she could have cared for herself much better than she did. However, she lived her life the best that she could at the time. I feel like I know better and I am able to take good care of myself. I don't see a counselor but I know there are caregiver consultants that will listen, I keep active and try to eat a healthy. I always am thinking there is more I could do. It got me to thinking, what do you do to take care of yourself? I know we all need free caregivers and more free time but that is not going to magically happen. What can you do today? Go out and intentionally do something for yourself so your kids don't have to take care of you! What do you need to support your own mental and physical wellness?
I do quite a bit of volunteer work also, from teaching chair yoga to rescuing animals to working at the local botanical gardens, library and art museum. I’ve also just enrolled in classes to learn tap dancing and another language 😊
with all the new research by highly accredited universities and hospitals (Columbia and Cleveland clinic, for example), the connection to metabolic health (heart, liver, pancreas, thyroid) and mental health is overwhelming.
On October 3rd, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy. The skinny on that is this.... fasting is incredibly good for you! Take special care to maintain healthy electrolytes...especially sea salt with is critical for the functioning of both magnesium and potassium.
best thing you can do for yourself and your family? Die young at a ripe old age.
I NEVER tell anyone else what to do, because I believe we all need to find our own path, but this works GREAT for me.
That said, my endocrinologist says that the Keto approach is fine for me, and I believe her and trust her.
My interest in my own health left town when I began taking care of LOs, and fortunately after 3 years of self neglect, I’m slowly returning to doing for myself what I deserve.
NOW, if I can only light a fire under DH, who is even more stubborn than I!!
God bless you at 82 for driving and getting your own groceries! You sound TOTALLY with it, very realistic, and you have a really great attitude about potential issues that might come up. I’m 50, and I lose several things a DAY! (Glasses, cell phone, sometimes my mind!) Eat what you want, do what you want, and enjoy each day because it sounds like you have many blessings to be thankful for! My mom had the same attitude- eat and do what you want! No one knows how life is going to play out, so you might as well do what makes you happy!
I am in a house I can easily age into (purchased a Handicap Accessible house when my Husband was diagnosed with dementia and I plan on staying here.
I have a POA for Health and another for Finances.
I have my Will done. My Sister knows what I want medically and when appropriate I will fill out a POLST (more detailed then a DNR)
I stay active
I do not drink often, a few drinks with friends a few times a year.
And because of the experience I had caring for my Husband
I am more patient than I had been years ago, or maybe age has something to do with that
I volunteer
I am involved with Support Groups
I try to live with no regrets
I forgive
I am grateful
And to keep it short and sweet and to take a line from a Tim McGraw song I try to live like I was dying
I started crying this am & hubby & I went on a long walk, that helped tremendously to clear the mind!! Let’s encourage & keep in keeping on!!!!
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