Journaling for Caregivers: Rediscover Yourself and Reclaim Your Life
At some point during your caregiving journey, you may find yourself in a rut. The awareness may come with a birthday, a change in season, an event or the beginning of a new year. Whatever the reason, the sameness of each day can, at times, seem overwhelming and permanent.
Yes, you experience adrenaline rushes when your loved one has an emergency. Yes, you have frequent medical updates and handle other changes in their care. But what about you? What about your need as a person to look forward to something fresh and exciting in your own life every once in a while?
Sadly, new beginnings for caregivers are far easier to suggest than to accomplish, especially since they tend to come after significant endings. Yet, with some effort, you can still find small ways to refresh your life if you are willing to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.
One route of exploring new possibilities and rediscovering yourself is journaling. Writing in a journal can be a useful exercise for examining where you were before you took on the caregiving role, where you are now and how you envision your life in the future.
Benefits of Keeping a Caregiver Diary
For many, feelings of loneliness and isolation are an inescapable part of caregiving. One of the key benefits of journaling is that it can give a family caregiver someone (or something) to talk to. While it is important to continue nurturing social relationships, sometimes your best buddy may be a non-judgmental piece of paper.
Lynn Goodwin, former dementia caregiver and author of You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers, found the blank pages of her notebook to be an invaluable resource during the six years she cared for her mother.
Goodwin says that keeping a journal was “like having a best friend that didn’t talk back—I didn’t get interrupted mid-sentence.”
A caregiver’s journey is littered with conflicting emotions, and psychologist Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., feels that getting these feelings down on paper can help caregivers in a…
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An inspiring read for caregivers! Minding Our Elders is a series of stories about caregiving. But it is much more than that. It’s a book that helps us view aging and community through the lens of someone well versed in eldercare. Author Carol Bradley Bursack has been a caregiver for a neighbor and six elderly members of her family. These experiences made her the perfect person to interview and share the stories of friends and acquaintances. Through crisp writing and a sharp focus, we enter the lives of those struggling to care for loved ones with dementia and other age-related illnesses. As I read Minding Our Elders, I felt myself filling up with both appreciation and admiration for those who adopt the caregiving role. In addition, I was struck with the inherent value Carol sees in our elders. This is a well-written book that will stir your heart! …Ann Campanella
