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Greetings!
For many people, July represents the warm and
lazy days of summer. July 4th celebrations,
swimming pools and beaches come to mind.
For others, life does not seem to slow down
at all, especially when the kids are off from
school. Working men and women sometimes
struggle to balance both professional and
personal obligations.
Balancing Work And Family: A Challenge for
Women AND Men discusses the unique issues
men face in their decision to commit more
time to their families.
In this month's tips, Self-Care Tips for
Caregivers, I offer ideas to stay
clear of burnout, hopelessness and extreme
fatigue, and preserving sanity for those
of us involved in long term care for someone
dear to us (a parent, sibling, child,
spouse).
Check my website, www.drdaleatkins.com
for updates on my appearances related to my
new book, Sanity
Savers: Tips for Women to Live a Balanced
Life. I am proud to be a member of the
Westin Renewal Council, whose purpose
is to
help people live the best life wherever they
are. Please click Westin
Renewal Council for some personal renewal
tips. And if you
would like
me to speak to your group or organization,
please contact me directly at
dale@drdaleatkins.com or contact the
Speakers' Bureau at HarperCollins.
I appreciate you sharing this newsletter with
your
friends, loved ones and colleagues by
clicking Send
to a Friend button below.
Wishing you health, peace and balance.
Dale
Sanity Savers: Tips for Women to Live a Balanced Life
Now In Bookstores! |
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SANITY SAVERS: Tips for Women to
Live A
Balanced Life is out in bookstores and
is filled
with suggestions to save
your
sanity
every day of the week.
A must for any woman
seeking to find her balance!
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Sanity SaversTM
Balancing Work and Family: A Challenge for Women AND Men |
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Now, more than ever, men are involved in the
day to day lives of their families. They make
choices to spend more time at home or to stay
home entirely, actively participating in and
contributing to child care and housework.
Their desire to be a part of the
family instead of apart from the
family factors into more and more men's
considerations regarding career and job
opportunities, expectations and financial
rewards and benefits as well as their overall
life satisfaction.
We are in a transition time. We are
not yet
where we need to be so that men and women can
benefit from the support and empathy they can
offer each other as they both share in the
creation of their family lives. Many
companies do not appear to appreciative the
value of having workers who are balanced in
their home/work lives and have yet to send a
message that someone whose family life is in
good shape is a much better worker. The
women's movement of the 1960s encouraged
women to pursue their desires, enter the work
force, design and forge careers and roles
began to change. There was more shared
parenting. There was, however, not a
comparable men's movement to articulate the
desires of men in the same way.
Whatever prompts the wake up call,
men are
discovering the undeniable satisfaction and
joy when they become more fully involved and
more fully committed to their families. Not
every man is going to become a stay at home
dad but more and more men are deciding not to
accept after work assignments or are choosing
work where they will have the opportunities
to spend time with their families. They,
their partners and their children benefit
from this shift.
What may have worked for previous
generations may no longer apply.
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Sanity SaversTM
A Good Daily Habit |
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Some days you can feel your mood drop.
When you can't get outdoors, feel overwhelmed
with too many things, or can't focus on any
one thing, your upbeat outlook may wane.
Instead of reaching for a drink or comfort
food, move your body. Depending on how you
feel and what you need, moving will help
relase the "happy hormones" that will
contribute to saving your sanity as you
improve your mood.
Simple movement can help you to manage how
you feel.
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Sanity SaversTM TIPS
Self-Care Tips for Caregivers
Avoiding Burnout |
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There are two realities when it comes to
caregiving for a loved one with an illness.
One is that this role can be a rewarding,
life-changing experience for the caregiver
and can make a world of difference to the
person who is ill. The other is that every
caregiver is a candidate for burnout, and
some feel it more severely than others.
While many caregivers do cope well with
stress and do not experience dramatic changes
in their lives, others may be more
susceptible to burnout. Recognizing common
sources of burnout and proactively taking
steps to minimize their effects is an
important contribution toward self-care.
You are no good for someone else if you are
no good for yourself.
The secret is to stay balanced and give to
yourself while caregiving for another person.
When you do this, you will be less likely to
experience extreme burnout. Here are some
tips to keep in mind to help you.
- Live in the Moment -
Stay in the moment and have hope. By staying
in the moment and seeing each day as a series
of connected events, you can navigate through
even the toughest situations.
- Set Goals and Have a Plan-
Having a plan that you can rely on helps to
fend off frustration, depression and sense of
hopelessness that is typical of burnout.
Being prepared is the best defense. Do this
by sharing as many responsibilities as
possible with family members, friends, and
professionals.
- Develop Strategies for
Coping-Review the strategies you have
used before in other situations. Assess their
value to you now and determine if alternative
ways to deal with stress are in order. Don't
forget to laugh and see the humor in some of
the most bizarre situations.
- Keep Roles in Perspective- If you
are a caregiver for a parent, it is wise to
recognize that your roles do not reverse.
Your parent remains your parent, and deserves
to be treated with respect, even if you are
in charge of feeding or bathing him or her.
- Concentrate on Your Own Health-Eat
healthfully, exercise daily,
meditate or do a relaxation exercise that
reminds you to incorporate "mindful,
restorative breathing" throughout the day,
which helps you to sleep more soundly.
- Join a Support Group
-Not only does this help with feelings of
isolation, it connects you with others who
are experiencing similar day to day events
and feelings. Nobody's situation is EXACTLY
like yours but there are folks who are
similar situations who can help you
emotionally and spiritually. And, believe it
or not, you can help others in the process.
Care for yourself as well as for the person
who depends on you.
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| A Thought |
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The person who risks nothing, does nothing,
has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he
simply cannot learn and feel and change and
grow and love and live.
Leo Buscaglia
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DALE V. ATKINS Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist,
lecturer and commentator in the media who
appears
on the Today show. She has more than twenty-
five
years of experience and focuses on living a
balanced
life, parenting, aging well, managing stress,
life &
work transitions, family connections and healthy
relationships. Dr. Atkins is the author
and/or co-editor of several books including:
SistersFrom the
Heart:
Men
and
Women Write
Their Private Thoughts about their Private
Lives
Families and their Hearing-Impaired
Children
I'm
OK, You're My Parents
How
to Overcome
Guilt,
Let Go of Anger and Create a Relationship that
Works
Wedding Sanity Savers
How to
Handle the Stickiest Dilemmas, Scrapes and
Questions that Arise on the Road to Your Perfect
Day.And her
new
book . . .
Sanity
Savers: Tips for Women to
Live a
Balanced Life.
Find out more....
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As Seen on the TODAY SHOW!Wedding Sanity Savers
How to Handle the Stickiest Dilemmas, Scrapes and Questions that Arise on the Road to Your Perfect Day
I'm OK
You're My Parents
How to Overcome Guilt, Let Go of Anger, and Create a Relationship That WorksNow in Paperback!
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