What Defines PERSONAL GROWTH

Recreation

Caregivers often feel they need to put their life on hold and lose themselves in the caregiver role. A hobby can engage or distract attention as needed. A hobby can help you to relax, or it can give you a sense of purpose outside of your caregiving world (Greenfield, 2023). Having interests that are distinct from caregiving can help to relieve stress and who you are outside of the caregiving role. Greenfield (2021) mentions six core human needs. These needs are: 1) certainty; 2) variety; 3) significance; 4) love and connection; 5) growth; and 6) contribution. Are your core needs being met? You can read a list of self-care practices and see if any meet these six core needs. For instance, when certainty is missing, you might simply take a bubble bath to restore your inner balance, giving you a sense that after all, all is right in the world.

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Exercise

Life balance consists of a mix of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. One thing to add to your life balance is physical exercise, whether that is a short walk, tai chi, yoga, or something else that attracts you. Research shows that practice of Tai Chi and Yoga result in physical and mental health. These practices also nurture your emotional health and foster discipline, resilience and mental clarity. The self-soothing nature of these practices have even been shown to be useful in releasing addictions. When you stretch yourself to include a new facet of life, that is when personal growth occurs.

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Friendships

Life balance consists of a mix of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Spending time with friends and family, especially those that you laugh with can add spice to your life and all kinds of mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical balance. Some ways to add this to your life: take a walk with a good friend—bonus points, physical health, endorphins, lowered blood pressure, especially if you laugh…and life enjoyment. Play is necessary to a balanced life throughout life. Play enhances learning and the use of talents, social empathy, societal empathy, and social competency. Play (even for only 20 minutes) reduces stress, improves mood, and lowers the chances of burn-out. When you stretch yourself to include a new facet to life, that is when personal growth occurs.

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Community Activities

Caregivers often experience their social network becoming smaller, as caregiving absorbs much of the attention that would normally be spent on nourishing friendships. So that your social network can thrive, you need to reach out and nurture the connections, which requires energy. Make sure you not only have “you” time, but that you make time to make new friends, see old friends, or have them visit. This keeps you physically and emotionally healthier. To make new friends, some options include volunteering, attending a church, or finding a nature or hiking club. You might also try yoga, tai chi, or pickleball; or develop interests such as photography or painting workshops. You can also try attending in-person or remote caregiver support groups, or volunteering for something that inspires or interests you. Strong relationships boost life expectancy and quality of life. All these things may get you out of the house, add spiritual or physical health and new interests to your life--and as a side benefit, you might add new friends to your social network.

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Personal Growth; Education; Training

Adult Education courses can help you grow through connecting with other, give you a sense of confidence and pride that add to your quality of life, learning how to maintain a health lifestyle and possibly gain a higher income to have better healthcare. It can also add to career prospects and financial stability. Finally adult education can help you to begin making changes in your own life, which will positively affect your care receiver, as well as your community, as you add to your own well-being.

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Quiet Time

Life balance consists of a mix of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. One thing to add to your life balance is quiet time, whether that is simply turning off the phones and computer and taking some deep breaths or practicing some kind of mindful or other meditation. Bonus points for spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health. Spiritual health includes experience with nature, universe, or whatever spiritual deity/higher power you might pray to. A sense of inspiration or awe. When you stretch yourself to include a new facet of life, that is when personal growth occurs.

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Growth Time

Life balance consists of a mix of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. While this balancing act can be challenging, with financial burdens and lack of support, caregivers in a recent study found that caregiving requires patience and is a source of personal growth. They also related that caregiving provides many opportunities for learning new skills, making lifestyle changes (not all positive), and finding a new sense of gratitude. Caregiving also provides a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, which leads to an overall beneficial impact on their lives. Opportunities for growth and reciprocity were the important aspects of the caregiving experience (Blinka, et al., 2022). What aspects of personal growth are you experiencing? Or would you like to experience? When you stretch yourself to include a new facet of life, that is when personal growth occurs.

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Consistent Life

Caregiving is a duty and a joy. Conflict, unexpected situations, financial burdens of both you and your care receiver, can throw your life out of balance. Wilson (2018) indicates that some ways to avoid chaos and have life be reasonably reliable and consistent are: 1) planning for healthcare, financial, and legal needs; 2) have care and end-of-life discussions, not just think about them; 3) create written goals for caregiving, as well as other areas of your life; 4) Learn to have self-discipline and a positive attitude; 5) Develop self-reliance and learn how to ask for help when needed; 6) Collaborate with medical and insurance professionals, in a positive pleasant way; as well as with your aging parents and other family members; 7) when you have all this make sure you take time to enjoy life and evade stress.

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Curation

Caregivers may find social media beneficial as a way of staying connected with loved ones and staying informed. There are some downsides. Misinformation and political arguments abound on social media; comparing yourself to others may lead to unrealistic goals, as well as contribute to an unhealthy sedentary lifestyle. To evaluate whether social media is helping you or adding to caregiver stress here are some things to consider: 1) Do you spend over 1.5 hours a day on social media? Experts vary but that can be considered a sign of heavy usage. Heavy usage can harm your eyes; a sedentary lifestyle can harm your health. 2) Are your relationships suffering either due to the time you spend online ignoring them, or because of online arguments which lead to damaged offline relationships?; 3) Are you experiencing increased anxiety and stress because of social media. Pay attention to how you feel before you log on and how you feel when you log off. If you see a change maybe it is time for a break. You may also investigate what is making you uncomfortable online and block some friends or organizations.

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Time Management

Managing time effectively can help you manage the pressure and stresses of caregiving, avoid caregiver burnout and help you to lead a happy, balanced life. 1) The first trick of time management is to learn to break big projects or tasks down to small bitesize chunks, whether that is 15 minutes, 5 minutes, or two minutes. Use a timer and stop when the bell goes off (or set another time). This keeps you from getting burned out; 2) Focus on one activity at a time and block out distractions. 3) Keep track of your time so that you know how long various tasks actually take (are they bigger or smaller than you thought?); 4) Plan and goal set on a weekly, daily, and monthly basis; 5) make a daily to-do list and make sure that time for yourself is on that list; 6) learn to say no; over-committing leads to burnout; 7) Use time-saving technology where appropriate.

Life Balance; Personal Growth; Self-Care

Caregiver stress can lead to burnout. In order to avoid this, or to deal with it when it occurs, is to begin working with a therapist or coach. Therapy is not a luxury. It can be a lifesaver when dealing with caregiver stress and related issues. Therapy and/or coaching can help in different ways. Therapy can provide caregivers with a safe space to express emotions. Therapists and coaches can help the caregiver to develop coping strategies and self-care practices. Some different kinds of coaching include transitions, grief, personal projects, or ADHD. Therapy and coaching can offer you additional insights (mental health; quality of life; self- confidence). Therapists can help with deeper emotions such as depression or severe anxiety.Grief support can be offered by therapists or coaches in different ways, and help you change behaviors whether that is to aid ADHD, projects of your choice, or to enhance physical health and quality of life. Therapists and coaches can help caregivers to set reasonable goals, develop coping skills, set boundaries, identify areas in which they can use additional help, manage stress with new lifestyle and thought patterns, and navigate caregiving challenges more effectively. Finally, a coach or therapist can help you find additional resources and affirm your caregiving and other accomplishments. When you stretch yourself to include a new facet of life (such as a therapist or coach), that is when personal growth occurs.

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Personal Growth

Three emotional benefits of caregiving are 1) strengthening relationships, 2) cultivating empathy, and 3) emotional resilience and coping. Through shared experiences, both positive and challenging, you and your care receiver develop love, respect, understanding and appreciation for each other and can also deepen family bonds. Empathy for the care receiver as they navigate their loss of independence and new roles in the family, help to build a relationship based on kindness and understanding. This new empathy will express itself at your job, with your friends, and the community. Finally, caregivers begin to develop emotional resilience and coping skills. While you may at times feel doubt, exhaustion, and guilt, you are learning coping skills which will aid you in dealing with stress, unexpected situations, and manage your emotions.

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