i use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few

Neither the bad feelings nor the good ones will last forever.

On good days, caring for someone can be a gift to both you and the care receiver.Ĭoping: Allow yourself to feel both sets of feelings. On bad days, one often has the feeling of wishing you didn’t have to be there, that this ordeal will be over soon. This is the feeling of both wanting to be doing what you are doing and the feeling of not wanting to be doing it. If only we were perfect we would not feel. Once identified, suggestions for how you might better cope with these feelings are offered. This fact sheet will identify some of the common, often hard to admit, feelings that caregivers experience. When you admit to your feelings, you can then find productive ways to express them and deal with them, so that you and the care receiver can cope better in the future. Not paying attention to your feelings can lead to poor sleep, illness, trouble coping, stress eating, substance abuse, etc. If you don’t deal with ALL of your emotions, they can be like a two-year-old who wants your attention: they will keep tugging at you until you stop and acknowledge them. Caregivers are often reluctant to express these negative feelings for fear they will be judged by others (or judge themselves) or don’t want to burden others with their problems. I love my mother, father, husband, wife, sister, brother, friend, etc.” But after awhile, the “negative” emotions that we tend to want to bury or pretend we aren’t feeling come up. Many caregivers set out saying, “This won’t happen to me. Many feelings come up when you are caring for someone day in and day out. All of your emotions, good and bad, about caregiving are not only allowed, but valid and important. Whatever your situation, it is important to remember that you, too, are important. Some of these feelings happen right away and some don’t surface until you have been caregiving for awhile. Whether you become a caregiver gradually or all of sudden due to a crisis, or whether you are a caregiver willingly or by default, many emotions surface when you take on the job of caregiving.

I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few