Inner Peace — Blog — Courage to Caregivers

“Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.” – Pema Chödrön

So much of what we talk about at Courage to Caregivers revolves around control – recognizing what we can and can’t control, and having the courage to act on those things we can control to empower our self-growth. With all the chaos that typically surrounds a caregiver’s life, it may seem that we don’t have much control over our ability to find inner peace or inner calm. But as the quote above states, inner peace is indeed under our control.

Inner calm is a choice we make when we decide to regain control of our emotions and limit the stress we feel from external forces. We know that we can’t always control external events or how others behave, but we can control our own reactions to them. By choosing not to let outside influences dictate our emotions, we empower ourselves to maintain our balance and serenity, or peace and calm, even in the most challenging situations.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 12, 2024Inner Calm, Inner Peace

JULY 2024 Newsletter: Your Journey to Wellness Starts Today

There are 8 dimensions of wellness. If we think of wellness as a journey towards the healthiest, best version of ourselves - focused on our mind, body, and soul, we can embark knowing that, as caregivers, when we're healthy, we provide better care to those we love.

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) defines wellness as "a broad approach for things individuals can do at their own pace, in their own time, and within their own abilities, that can help them feel better and live longer."

Wellness is also an essential component of RECOVERY. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines "recovery from mental disorders and/or substance use disorders as a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential."

SAMHSA has delineated four dimensions that support a life in recovery:

HEALTH - Overcoming or managing one's disease(s) or symptoms;
HOME - A stable and safe place to live;
PURPOSE - Meaningful daily activities, such as job, school, volunteerism, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and the independence, income and resources to participate in society;
COMMUNITY - Relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.

According to SAMHSA, "Recovery emerges from hope: The belief that recovery is real provides the essential and motivating message of a better future—that people can and do overcome the internal and external challenges, barriers, and obstacles that confront them. Hope is internalized and can be fostered by peers, families, providers, allies, and others. Hope is the catalyst of the recovery process."

While we see ourselves in the caregiver burnout prevention business - empowering caregivers to better cope and manage the stress of caregiving - we know that our work falls solidly in the area of RECOVERY.

Recovery IS possible. Both for our loved ones AND ourselves. Recovery isn't linear - it's a journey - with all the twists and turns that life brings. Recovery as a caregiver involves focusing on OUR health and wellness, too. If we don't take care of ourselves - sleep, movement, hydration and nutrition, as well as our mental health - how can we possibly care for someone else?

Check out our entire July newsletter focused on WELLNESS here.

Take a Break, Find Your Sanctuary

My time in my garden is precious to me. It feels very therapeutic to dig in the dirt. I love how the colors, scents, textures, and sounds activate ALL of my senses while I’m gardening. And there’s something magical about watching things grow and thrive before my eyes. My garden shows me that change for the good may be hard, but it is possible. My garden shows me HOPE. It’s my sanctuary.

WellnessKristi HornerJuly 25, 2024Sanctuary, Inner Peace, Peace

DECEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER: Looking Inward to Look Outward

“The person who looks outward dreams, the person who looks inward awakens.” ~ Carl Jung

We often think of our OUTLOOK on life as looking outward or looking at our prospects for the future. What if instead we started by looking WITHIN ourselves? With mindfulness, YOU can cultivate the outlook YOU desire.

Throughout December we looked at the theme of outlook through the lens of 1) having a hope-centered mindset; 2) cultivating inner peace; and 3) embracing possibility thinking.

Your outlook is connected to your resilience. You CAN grow your hope and develop a more positive outlook - you can CHOOSE the mindset you're going to use. Having a growth mindset reminds us that anything is possible ... and that's filled with SO many possibilities!

Your outlook is likely ever-changing or evolving. If you've always wondered if you are an optimist, pessimist, realist or opportunist, here's a link to a fun (quick) quiz that might give you some insight into your outlook!

Check out our entire December newsletter focused on OUTLOOK here!

Kristi HornerDecember 28, 2023Outlook, Opportunity, Possibility, Inner Calm, Inner Peace, Hope

It Takes Just a Few Moments to Find Your Inner Calm

As caregivers, we know how things can change from relative peace to chaos in the blink of an eye. But did you know that the opposite can be true, as well? With a little courage and mindfulness, we can disrupt the chaos, tap into our inner calm, and gain the strength we need to manage the stress of daily life.

Collaboration, OutlookKristi HornerDecember 13, 2023Inner Peace, inner calm

March Newsletter: Mindfulness to Cope With Stress

Mindfulness has many benefits! It's been found to support you in regulating emotions, managing stress and leading to greater overall health and well-being. Our theme of MINDFULNESS in March fits under the composure domain of resilience. Composure - in regards to resilience - is about learning to regulate our emotions. It's also about the "little things" - being mindful in the moment. Sounds easy, right? It's HARD!

Check out our March Newsletter focused on MINDFULNESS here.

The Opposite of Stress

We talk a lot about stress here – more specifically, coping with and managing stress – but this week’s topic is about the opposite of stress. Inner peace is a deliberative state of psychological or spiritual calm that we can feel despite the potential presence of stressors. Inner calm is being free from the emotions that can disrupt our peace and is a result of recognizing what we can and can’t control.

MindfulnessKristi HornerMarch 24, 2022Inner Peace, Inner Calm

Disruptive Calm

For caregivers, there are some days when we long for just a few moments of peace. Everyone needs us right now, everything feels like a crisis (or actually is a crisis), and life seems to be spinning out of control and into chaos.

MindfulnessKristi HornerMarch 25, 2021Inner Calm, Self-Care, Inner Peace, Serenity, Mindfulness