Caregiver Tips: Self-Care is not an Option and ‘Pity Parties’ are Okay!

Caregiver Tips: Self-Care is not an Option and ‘Pity Parties’ are Okay! Rayna Neises 27:08

This week, Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Betsy Wurzel Sloan. Betsy is a retired nurse and teacher’s aide who now has her own talk show. She is the Caregiver for her special needs adult son, and she has helped her mother-in-law, father, and husband as they experienced Alzheimer’s. Through the journey with her husband, Betsy feels that she found her gifts, power, and voice. She now works to raise awareness of Early Onset Alzheimer’s with her mission to help no one walk the journey alone during caregiving or after. Betsy provides the following insights:

(5:00) Live your life and enjoy it while taking your loved one out as much as possible.
(5:41) It can be easy to sit in a heap and feel sorry for yourself, but that is not going to do you or anyone else any good.
(7:11) With Alzheimer’s, know that today is the best day you have, so go ahead and take advantage of that.
(9:26) Self-Care is not an option.
(12:59) We need to validate and acknowledge our feelings and have a ‘pity party.’
(14:19) Remember that it does not matter what other people think.
(16:55) Knowledge is power.
(18:25) You know your loved one so go with your gut instinct.
(21:19) We all need to learn about the dying process.
(25:13) Find Betsy’s show, ‘Chatting with Betsy’ on Spotify, Streaker, Apple, Pod Chasers, and join her Facebook group #KickAlzheimersAssMovement | Facebook
(26:07) This episode was brought to you by ‘No Regrets: Hope for Your Caregiving Season.’ Check out the special bundle, including a signed copy of the book, available for purchase at No Regrets: Hope for Your Caregiving Season – Rayna Neises: A Season of Caring.

Rayna Neises A Season of Caring

Rayna Neises understands the joys and challenges that come from a season of caring. She helped care for both of her parents during their separate battles with Alzheimer’s over a thirty-year span. She is able to look back on those days now with no regrets – and she wishes the same for everyone caring for aging parents.

Rayna is the author of No Regrets: Hope for Your Caregiving Season, an ICF certified coach, the host of “A Season of Caring” podcast, Positive Approach® to Care (PAC)Independent Certified Trainer and speaker who is passionate about offering encouragement, support, and resources for regret-free caring aimed at preventing family caregivers from aimlessly wandering through this important season of life.

Rayna lives on a farm in southeast Kansas with her husband, Ron, and small pack of adorable dogs. She is the baby of her family, but most would never guess that. She is a former teacher who enjoys crafts of all kinds and spending time with her grandkids most of all.