Laughter — Blog — Courage to Caregivers

MARCH 2024 NEWSLETTER: Living Mindfully - Presence is the best present 💝

As a caregiver, do you feel you're mindful (living in the present moment) or is your mind full (overwhelmed, scattered, trying to do too much, or multi-tasking)?

For me, I find myself constantly teetering between BOTH, but if I'm being honest, I most often find my mind FULL. But 2023 my intention was to be more present - for myself and others. I made a concerted effort in my goal setting to focus on the here and now. 2023 quickly became one of my most challenging caregiving years. Caring for aging parents (and bonus parents), as well as a young adult with a traumatic brain injury, is hard on a good day - and we had many road blocks with detours in 2023. I lost sight of ME and felt pulled in too many directions.

Mindfulness is the ability to focus on the present moment while calmly recognizing and accepting your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. Mindfulness is being fully present, aware of where you are and what you’re doing while not being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is happening around you. When you are mindful you are free of both the past and future and free of judgment of right and wrong. Mindfulness for caregivers means learning to live in the moment, accepting the reality of your situation, and filtering out distractions.

Check out our entire March Newsletter focused on MINDFULNESS here!

A Little Laughter Can Mean a Lot

“A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.” – Madeleine L’Engle, “A Ring of Endless Light”

This week’s topic seems like it should be easy, but sometimes it feels like the hardest thing in the world. Caregiving can put us on an emotional roller coaster at times, filled with stress, decision-making, and sacrifice. Taking a moment to experience happiness and laughter may feel awkward or inappropriate at those times, but it’s also a great way to cope and might be exactly what we need as a stress reliever.

MindfulnessKristi HornerMarch 21, 2024Happiness, Laughter

March Newsletter: Mindfulness - Presence is the best present 🎁

Mindfulness may feel "trendy" or just an "overused" term to you. Before we launched Courage to Caregivers in 2018 - it did to me, too! As I have come to understand, appreciate, and aspire to make mindfulness a practice in my daily life, mindfulness has become my #1 coping strategy for the stress of caregiving.

I face stress as a caregiver each and every day. I support a young adult with a traumatic brain injury and aging parents (one newly minted 90-year old) - both living in our home. Using mindfulness as a coping strategy for the stress of caregiving, I am able to better regulate my emotions, sleep better (and return to sleep more effectively), notice when I'm not focused on what's IN my control, and find myself simply more present. I also love that mindfulness is rooted in COMPASSION - and we're all born with the capacity to be mindful.

I now find myself focusing on my breath (it truly can be that simple - and our breathing meditation classes have shown me just that), using affirmations and intentions and focusing on the present.

Mindful Magazine (our go-to for all things MINDFUL) has an excellent definition of mindfulness: "Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it’s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it."

Check out our entire March newsletter focused on Mindfulness here.

It All Starts with a Smile

In our support for caregivers, we focus a lot on ways to relieve stress and cope with difficult situations. One of the best stress relievers and coping mechanisms I know is humor. Though the situation may be serious, and no one is denying that it is, a good quip or a funny joke can be a stress reliever for everyone.

MindfulnessKristi HornerMarch 16, 2023Happiness, Laughter, Humor

May Newsletter: GROWTH MINDSET ... it's truly the POWER of YET 🌱

Having a fixed mindset is telling yourself that you (and your loved one) can't change.

Having a growth mindset is reminding yourself that you are a perfectly imperfect perpetual work in progress and that anything is possible.

It's NEVER too late to cultivate a growth mindset - your brain is like a rubber band and science tells us that you can learn new things. It starts with believing.

You don't get really good at something - anything - without practice. Your brain is a muscle - give your growth mindset a good workout today!

Check out the May Newsletter focused on GROWTH MINDSET here.

Humor: The Universal Language

This week’s topic is all about one of the greatest stress relievers: the power of happiness and laughter. Although the emotional roller coaster of caregiving may make us feel awkward or uncomfortable to experience happiness and laughter during stressful times, it’s important to remember that humor is one of our most natural responses to difficult situations, and it has proven benefits for our emotional health.

Growth MindsetKristi HornerMay 12, 2022Happiness, Laughter, Growth Mindset

The Journey to Happiness … in Baby Steps

Let’s face it – happiness is complicated. I began to realize this as I provided mental and emotional support to my brother. Since that time, I have wondered if happiness is really a choice.

Growth MindsetKristi HornerMay 13, 2021Happiness, Laughter, Humor

The Pursuit of Happiness

Of all the goals in life, happiness might be the most universal. Who doesn’t want to be happy? But it also can be an elusive goal, and it can be hard to define exactly what it means to be happy.

Emotional WellnessKristi HornerApril 18, 2019Happiness, Laughter