Aging is tough stuff… Are you up for the challenge?

You think you have everything under control, then something you weren’t prepared for happens.  You’re thrown into a tailspin.  How do you get your feet back on the ground?  Can you stop for a minute and take a deep breath or two? 

 

Caregivers work to care for loved ones for weeks, months, or even years.  Struggling to keep them alive and sometimes wishing it was over.  It’s hard to see the pain—the suffering.  But when the love is there, it is felt so profoundly.

And the relationships that are built with helpful friends and family members form unforgettable bonds.  

 

Thoughts of death may return memories of loved ones long gone. Grief feels like it’s never over.  You learn to roll with it. Messy business death is. 

 

Challenging thoughts are products of emotional triggers.  Our emotions are stored not only in our minds but also in our bodies.  The mind can not distinguish between a physical threat to the body and an emotional threat.  The fight or flight response ensues.  Bad world news, financial stress, caregiving struggles, and lack of time for yourself all impact your well-being.  Aches and pains you usually grumble about may become demons in the middle of the night, thoughts that play over and over again.

 

Can we calm the constant chatter?  

How can we bring peace inside?  

What can you do?

 

I often wake in the middle of the night.  Within minutes my mind begins to chatter.  And then, I take control.

I have learned a new response.  I move my body.  I get out of bed.  Sway from side to side.  Stretch. Take deep breaths and tell myself, “Go back to sleep!” It doesn’t always work.  I may have to do it again.  Get out of bed.  Go into the living room.  Open my phone, do a Wordle, or bore myself with some reading.  And then I remember deep breaths.  And repeat, “Now it’s time to sleep.”  And it works.