Speaker 1: Hi everyone. I'm Holly Robinson, pete actor, author, advocate, do
Speaker 1: it all mom, and I'm also a caregiver. And this
Speaker 1: is care Walks, a podcast from iHeartRadio and Voltaian Arthritis
Speaker 1: Pain Gel. It's a show for family caregivers who give
Speaker 1: everything to everyone and need to make time for themselves
Speaker 1: through movement. Every episode is designed for you to walk
Speaker 1: as you listen, so just think of me and my
Speaker 1: guests as your weekly walking buddies. We'll hear stories from
Speaker 1: caregivers and gain tips and insights from health experts and
Speaker 1: advocates who know how important it is to take care
Speaker 1: of yourself and manage joint pain due to arthritis that
Speaker 1: often accompanies being a caregiver. We'll discover community ourselves and
Speaker 1: maybe even alleviate some joint pain due to arthritis in
Speaker 1: the process as we walk together and connect to the
Speaker 1: best parts of being a caregiver. I can't believe it.
Speaker 1: We have arrived at our final episode for this first
Speaker 1: season of care Walks. Thank you so much for joining
Speaker 1: me on this journey. Over the course of this season,
Speaker 1: we've reflected on how caregiving has changed our lives and
Speaker 1: how we can better care for our own bodies and
Speaker 1: minds while becoming conscientious caregivers for our loved ones. Just
Speaker 1: a reminder right now, you're listening to the full version
Speaker 1: of this episode, but if you don't have time for
Speaker 1: a full walk today, then go check out our bridged
Speaker 1: version of this same episode. It's like cliff notes for podcasts.
Speaker 1: Setting out on this journey, I was really excited to
Speaker 1: hear from other caregivers and honestly curious to know how
Speaker 1: their experience was similar or different to mine. But even
Speaker 1: beyond that, exploring the many approaches to self care, from
Speaker 1: scheduling weekly time to yourself to making movement a daily practice.
Speaker 1: Throughout this season, I've learned so much from our guests,
Speaker 1: and I'm so grateful to be part of this movement
Speaker 1: to recognize the needs and well being of family caregivers.
Speaker 1: For this last episode, I want to talk about caregiver burnout.
Speaker 1: According to the website Aging in Place, a free online
Speaker 1: resource for aging at home, about eighty five percent of
Speaker 1: family caregivers in the US do not receive any respite care.
Speaker 1: Burnout isn't something we typically are preparing ourselves for. Oftentimes
Speaker 1: we don't realize we are burnout until it's already taken
Speaker 1: a big toll on us, So today we're also going
Speaker 1: to dig into how we can keep burnout at Bay.
Speaker 1: Later in this episode, you'll hear from Lindsay Pace, a
Speaker 1: licensed therapist and advocate for those adjusting to major life
Speaker 1: changes like becoming a caregiver. Lindsay helps caregivers build resiliency
Speaker 1: and take the steps towards a full and prosperous life. Together,
Speaker 1: Lindsay and I will talk about the signs of burnout
Speaker 1: and how caregivers can continue to use self care as
Speaker 1: a means of healing from over extension. But before we
Speaker 1: get to my conversation with Lindsay, let's get walking. Begin
Speaker 1: to let go of any negative feelings you're holding on too,
Speaker 1: and find a sense of release. Let go of any
Speaker 1: stress and any anxiety that you may be feeling or
Speaker 1: resonating in your body. Allow this time to be about you.
Speaker 1: For you. Take a deep breath in through your nose
Speaker 1: and now exhale out your mouth. Let's do this again,
Speaker 1: and as you exhale, I want you to release a
Speaker 1: sigh in through your nose. Then release that sigh as
Speaker 1: you exhale through your mouth. Great job. Now, last one
Speaker 1: inhaled deeply and exhale with a sigh. We want to
Speaker 1: remember to be mindful of our energy. We cannot operate
Speaker 1: on an empty tank, and time spent filling your tank
Speaker 1: makes for a better and brighter you as you find
Speaker 1: your stride. Join me as I explore how we can
Speaker 1: combat caregiver burnout with Lindsay Pace. Lindsay Pace is a
Speaker 1: licensed therapist in Virginia who counsels folks who are adjusting
Speaker 1: to stressful life changes, helping individuals who are stuck in
Speaker 1: neg patterns and burn out by the demands of caring
Speaker 1: for those around them. She's going to help us recognize
Speaker 1: the signs of burnout, better cope with that added stress,
Speaker 1: and reinforce our self care strategies to combat caregiver burnout.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today, Lindsey.
Speaker 2: Hi, Holly, thank you so much for having me. I'm
Speaker 2: excited to be here with you.
Speaker 1: I'm excited to talk to you. Can you tell me
Speaker 1: what inspired your work as a therapist and what led
Speaker 1: you to focus on helping those who care for others. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, I'm a licensed clinical social worker and I've been
Speaker 2: in the field about sixteen years and my first ten
Speaker 2: years were in hospice, and so I worked in the
Speaker 2: hospice field where I'm going into people's homes, working with
Speaker 2: patients who have a terminal illness and working with the
Speaker 2: families and the caregivers to help them process, feel supported,
Speaker 2: navigate what's to come. And it was through those years
Speaker 2: that I recognized how much we ask of caregivers and
Speaker 2: how much is on them to do and the lack of,
Speaker 2: you know, unfortunately resources that they need to adequately care
Speaker 2: for themselves while they're caring for somebody else. And it
Speaker 2: was through that time that I really wanted to focus
Speaker 2: in on anxiety. Anxiety disorders is my area of specialty
Speaker 2: now that I'm in private practice, because what we would
Speaker 2: often see is people become very anxious in the caregiving role.
Speaker 2: People experience a lot of depression in the caregiving role,
Speaker 2: and of course a lot of overlap with burnout as well.
Speaker 2: So that's what brought me to the field of working
Speaker 2: with caregivers.
Speaker 1: That is fascinating work. I have always wondered about hospice
Speaker 1: care and about the emotion that you go through when
Speaker 1: you're trying to walk someone through that really difficult time,
Speaker 1: and I think it's fascinating to me that from that
Speaker 1: you really looked at the caregiver aspect of this and
Speaker 1: how hard it is to go through all of that
Speaker 1: emotionally physically when you take care of someone for so
Speaker 1: long and then it gets to that point. I'm sure
Speaker 1: there are a lot of people that don't even take
Speaker 1: the time to acknowledge that they're feeling burnout, acknowledge that
Speaker 1: they're really struggling emotionally and psychologically and with their mental health,
Speaker 1: because we always put ourselves at the back of the
Speaker 1: line right when it comes to caregiving. So from your work,
Speaker 1: how do you see the role of caregiver and pushing
Speaker 1: our care for ourselves to the back burner? How do
Speaker 1: you see that and what are ways that we can
Speaker 1: speak to caregivers about that?
Speaker 2: Well? I think that the individuals who find themselves becoming
Speaker 2: the primary caregiver usually are natural inclined to be feelers
Speaker 2: and attuned to the needs of others, have more of
Speaker 2: a willingness to put themselves on the back burner. It
Speaker 2: definitely attracts a certain kind of person to do the work,
Speaker 2: not always but most of the time. And so when
Speaker 2: you're in this role of primary caregiver, and you have
Speaker 2: a person who is increasingly dependent on you, you just
Speaker 2: continue to step up to the plate. Whatever the next
Speaker 2: need is, Okay, how can I meet it? What can
Speaker 2: I do? And it can be very easy to be
Speaker 2: very tunnel visioned on the individual that you're caring for
Speaker 2: and task oriented Okay, I've got a problem, let's solve it,
Speaker 2: and not having time because issues come up frequently, changes
Speaker 2: are required regularly with caregiving to examine what am I needing,
Speaker 2: how am I doing? And so people don't recognize that
Speaker 2: they've kind of crossed a line in their self care
Speaker 2: until they are really burned out or experiencing depression or
Speaker 2: having other health issues that unfortunately have to be a
Speaker 2: wake up call. I would say the biggest contributing factor
Speaker 2: to burnout is feeling like you have the weight of
Speaker 2: this person's life on your shoulders and your shoulders only
Speaker 2: maybe you think that nobody can do it like me,
Speaker 2: therefore I'm not going to ask for help, or maybe
Speaker 2: the person does not have anyone they can ask for help,
Speaker 2: and that would be a real contributor to the burnout happening.
Speaker 1: Are there ways to ask that are effective that you found?
Speaker 2: I think Being specific is the best way to ask
Speaker 2: for help instead of just saying, hey, I need help
Speaker 2: and expecting them to identify something that they can do.
Speaker 2: Get very specific. I need help on Tuesdays from one
Speaker 2: to three. I can do whatever it might be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So just take the generality out right, So being
Speaker 1: very specific, I need you to take my dog to
Speaker 1: the vet for me today, or I need you know,
Speaker 1: very specific. The more specific you are, then I think
Speaker 1: that kind of limits the person that you're asking. They
Speaker 1: really understand what specifically is needed from them, and it's
Speaker 1: not like it's not grey not a gray area. That's
Speaker 1: a great, great tip. What other signs would you say
Speaker 1: that you might see as well of caregiver burnout? How
Speaker 1: are their physical signs that you can see or what
Speaker 1: else do we look for?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think when we're looking for burnout, if a
Speaker 2: person is in a caregiving situation and they're kind of
Speaker 2: asking themselves, am I burned out? I would look at
Speaker 2: whether or not you are experiencing more cynicism you know
Speaker 2: about the role of being a caregiver.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's interesting.
Speaker 2: How much is it are you carrying? Are you feeling
Speaker 2: increasingly tired and exhausted and experiencing that sense of isolation
Speaker 2: and helplessness. So that would be what I'm looking for.
Speaker 2: When I walked into a home with hospice patients and families,
Speaker 2: when I noticed those symptoms, I was, you know, thinking, yes,
Speaker 2: we are, we've reached a limit, and we had to
Speaker 2: be very sensitive about how we would work with the
Speaker 2: caregiver because the last thing you want to do to
Speaker 2: someone who's burned out is say, hey, you're burned out
Speaker 2: and you need to do X, Y and Z.
Speaker 1: Right, that doesn't seem like it would be helpful. No, No,
Speaker 1: how do you think we can manage our expectations that
Speaker 1: we have for ourselves as caregivers? I know, as a
Speaker 1: caregiver for my dad when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's,
Speaker 1: I was very young and didn't even think about, well,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm nineteen and think about, you know, managing
Speaker 1: any of my expectations because I was so young. But
Speaker 1: I think, well, you have so many more resources now
Speaker 1: and something like care walks where we can talk about
Speaker 1: these things. So how can we as caregivers just manage
Speaker 1: these expectations we have for ourselves.
Speaker 2: Yeah, over extend, overcommit, all of those things. Well, you know,
Speaker 2: everyone comes to the caregiving position by different means. Some
Speaker 2: people march boldly into it, you know, volunteering here, am
Speaker 2: I let's do this right, and they're eager and excited.
Speaker 2: Other people kind of just find themselves. Oh there's nobody else.
Speaker 2: I guess I have to do this. You know, there'd
Speaker 2: be a variety of expectations a person would have going
Speaker 2: into being a caregiver. I would say, the first thing
Speaker 2: that we need to recognize is that caregiving is costly.
Speaker 2: It is costly, you know, financially, it is costly physically, emotionally,
Speaker 2: mentally on relationships. Understanding that there is a cost to
Speaker 2: making this decision and recognizing that there's also the potential
Speaker 2: for a great reward. But I have to hold those
Speaker 2: at the same level that there is going to be
Speaker 2: a cost, there will be consequences, and there's also a
Speaker 2: reward opportunity here and holding those to the same degree
Speaker 2: versus just okay, I'm going to do this, but recognizing
Speaker 2: that there are consequences as far as adjusting expectations. You know,
Speaker 2: I would walk into homes that were pristine, you know,
Speaker 2: where they you know, vacuum every day, and they have
Speaker 2: all of these routine household activities that they maintain while
Speaker 2: caring for somebody who is you know, bed bound and
Speaker 2: total care and needs help with feeding and every every
Speaker 2: activity of daily living. And yet they're still trying to
Speaker 2: maintain this rigorous and rigid schedule of household responsibilities. And
Speaker 2: so I would encourage people, is there just one thing,
Speaker 2: one thing that you can let go of for a season.
Speaker 2: I always like to say for a season, because caregiving
Speaker 2: does not last forever. And so putting down one thing
Speaker 2: for a season that you can pick up again later
Speaker 2: so that you can lower the amount of pressure and
Speaker 2: responsibility you have on yourself for now.
Speaker 1: Ah, that's another good takeaway. Another good takeaway, lindsay, because
Speaker 1: it just minimizes some of the overwhelming confusion you have
Speaker 1: when you have so many things coming at you at
Speaker 1: once for a season, writing that down. And so to
Speaker 1: tell me more about the reward opportunity with being a caregiver,
Speaker 1: how do you define what that is and what that
Speaker 1: even looks or feels like.
Speaker 2: I think that, of course this will vary person to person,
Speaker 2: But the rewards that I often heard from people were
Speaker 2: that they got to spend time with their loved one
Speaker 2: that they would not have had had they not been
Speaker 2: in the caregiving role. They got to see sides of
Speaker 2: their loved one that they didn't know existed that they
Speaker 2: really enjoyed and could really share stories about. And for
Speaker 2: some relationships it's a chance of reconnection and redemption. Sometimes
Speaker 2: you know, maybe the relationship was not what it could
Speaker 2: have been, you know, when things were well and unfortunately,
Speaker 2: being in the caregiving situation, we know that someone is
Speaker 2: not well, but it could be a chance for reconciliation
Speaker 2: for people.
Speaker 1: And I've seen that, yes, And you know, the other
Speaker 1: half of the battle is, you know, remedying are exhaustion.
Speaker 1: You know, how do we go about recovering when we
Speaker 1: recognize that were burnout? What are some of the things
Speaker 1: that we can do you obviously you said you take
Speaker 1: some things off your plate, or there are other things.
Speaker 2: Yes, certainly there are other things that we can do
Speaker 2: for the level of exhaustion. That is simply we're looking
Speaker 2: at energy conservation. How can we conserve energy right now
Speaker 2: while resources are low again, you know, putting that for
Speaker 2: a season behind it, it will not always be this way.
Speaker 2: So for now, what can we do to conserve this energy?
Speaker 2: Do we need to hire someone to clean the home.
Speaker 2: Do we need to utilize medication from the doctor that
Speaker 2: will help our loved ones sleep so that we can sleep,
Speaker 2: or from the doctor that will help us sleep. Relief
Speaker 2: can come from all sorts of sources, including having someone
Speaker 2: do your grocery shopping. Yes, I personally loved using shipped
Speaker 2: for my groceries, and that is time that's saved for me.
Speaker 2: And yes I might pay a little extra, but it
Speaker 2: saves me that time and that energy I would rather
Speaker 2: give to my family. Those kinds of things can be
Speaker 2: really helpful in conserving energy when energy is already low.
Speaker 1: Yes, and you mentioned earlier we were talking about the
Speaker 1: journey of how to get to becoming a caregiver, and
Speaker 1: we all get there in different ways. But yeah, when
Speaker 1: you are sort of I don't want to say the
Speaker 1: word forced into it, but when it sort of is
Speaker 1: you're the only option, Yeah, and then that does sometimes
Speaker 1: build some feelings of resentment, feelings of not feeling appreciated.
Speaker 1: What would you say to someone who like that, who's
Speaker 1: burnout but they're also a little resentful.
Speaker 2: M Well, it's a hard place to be because sometimes
Speaker 2: when you're in that resentful place, you think I shouldn't
Speaker 2: have to ask. I shouldn't have to you know, X, Y,
Speaker 2: and Z. We can get stuck in our resentment simply
Speaker 2: by I call them should statements right, should statements is
Speaker 2: a criticism, doesn't produce any kind of progress forward. It's
Speaker 2: just I shouldn't have to they should know what I want? Right,
Speaker 2: So recognizing if okay, check in with yourself right now,
Speaker 2: am I feeling resentful? What does that feel like? What
Speaker 2: am I doing about it?
Speaker 1: Okay?
Speaker 2: Have I asked anybody for help? So the first thing
Speaker 2: would be to make your needs known. Let them be known.
Speaker 2: Let people know that you are frustrated that you are
Speaker 2: feeling some resentment. I can't guarantee what their response is.
Speaker 1: Going to be. Yeah, that's a very important part of it.
Speaker 2: Yes, but I do think that you can be wise
Speaker 2: in recognizing who might be a person you can share
Speaker 2: this with that can respond in a way that is
Speaker 2: helpful if you truly have no one like that. This
Speaker 2: is where caregiver support groups are an excellent resource, where
Speaker 2: you can talk with other caregivers who find themselves in
Speaker 2: the same situation. Also going to therapy, it can be
Speaker 2: very traumatic. The reason that you are a caregiver and
Speaker 2: so working maybe with a therapist to help you process
Speaker 2: this huge transition and the road ahead of you. And
Speaker 2: thankfully with COVID, most therapists offer telehealth so you don't
Speaker 2: even have to leave the home and find someone to
Speaker 2: sit with your loved one.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more from Lindsay Pace, and
Speaker 1: now back to my conversation with Lindsay Pace. The physical
Speaker 1: toll of caregiving, it can really be difficult on the body,
Speaker 1: and yes, in your experience, what things stand out about
Speaker 1: the physical demands in the caregiving journey.
Speaker 2: Often in the caregiving situation, they're having to help somebody
Speaker 2: move someone maybe who is immobile, maybe someone who is bedbound,
Speaker 2: so doing a lot of lifting and pulling and churning physically.
Speaker 2: Aside from the exhaustion, there are occupational hazards that caregivers
Speaker 2: have to be aware.
Speaker 1: Of, Yes, there are. So what are some of your
Speaker 1: favorite self care practices that help you prioritize movement or
Speaker 1: find stress relief, either physically or emotionally.
Speaker 2: Well, I used to be better at this than I
Speaker 2: am now. In fact, I have a goal to get
Speaker 2: back outside and walk daily. But if I'm not able
Speaker 2: to do that it might be that I'm turning on
Speaker 2: a music dance video on YouTube and just dancing like
Speaker 2: a crazy person with my kids, and it gives us
Speaker 2: an opportunity to move and connect and laugh, and those
Speaker 2: things are vital to disrupting the stress or the exhaustion
Speaker 2: that might be going on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I have a son who has autism and his
Speaker 1: favorite thing to relieve his stress is jumping on the trampoline,
Speaker 1: and so it's been we are a jumping family. Like
Speaker 1: all of us go out there and get on this trampoline.
Speaker 1: If you can imagine all six of us out there,
Speaker 1: even the dog gets on the trampoline and jumps. But
Speaker 1: just the stress relief and just the laughter, even laughing
Speaker 1: about the dog getting on and you know, at all
Speaker 1: the things that we do. So just that movement, that
Speaker 1: little movement can really create a release that you otherwise
Speaker 1: wouldn't have just stagnantly sitting. So it's just about getting
Speaker 1: up and doing it right, just making that first step.
Speaker 2: Yes, and it can totally change the tone of the situation.
Speaker 2: So if you know that you're just sitting there and
Speaker 2: you're overwhelmed by something, simply changing posture and position can
Speaker 2: help break you out of that. So it doesn't take
Speaker 2: a lot to accomplish that. If you can move your
Speaker 2: body in any way, do it, dedicate a little bit
Speaker 2: of time each day to that. I love that this
Speaker 2: podcast encourages caregivers to walk while they listen. That's just
Speaker 2: a wonderful motivation and it gives people, Okay, it's my
Speaker 2: podcast time. I'm going to go and do this walk now.
Speaker 2: Because simply being outside moving your body can help relieve
Speaker 2: some of the stress and pressure that you're carrying. When
Speaker 2: you're a caregiver, you end up in a very hyper vigilant,
Speaker 2: hyper aware this checking always going on in your mind
Speaker 2: of what do I need to do next. That's a
Speaker 2: stress response system that's been activated, and to work that
Speaker 2: out is to release some of that energy. So going
Speaker 2: for a walk, doing something that creates a little bit
Speaker 2: of an increased heart rate can be very helpful and
Speaker 2: working out that increased energy.
Speaker 1: Have you noticed that in your experience? Have you noticed
Speaker 1: that taking time to connect with others can help combat
Speaker 1: burnout for caregivers?
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, because then you can recognize, oh, it's not
Speaker 2: just me, there's other people who are experiencing this. Because
Speaker 2: sometimes we think that because it's hard. We must be
Speaker 2: doing something wrong, or maybe there's a better way to
Speaker 2: do this, and really it's just hard. There is not
Speaker 2: one great way to be a caregiver that's going to
Speaker 2: assure that you have no resentment and no guilt and
Speaker 2: no frustration. And so connecting with other people can be
Speaker 2: very healing, very validating, and perhaps give you hope to
Speaker 2: move forward through the caregiving journey.
Speaker 1: So, lindsay, when you're starting to recognize the symptoms of
Speaker 1: burn out, how can caregivers work through these negative feelings
Speaker 1: and avoid taking it out on those around them?
Speaker 2: Great question, and I would like to say that there
Speaker 2: is no way we can avoid these negative feelings. The goal,
Speaker 2: especially when I'm working with clients and private practice, we're
Speaker 2: not trying to get rid of or eliminate any of
Speaker 2: these negative thoughts or feelings. We're trying to choose a
Speaker 2: new way to respond to them and interact with them. So,
Speaker 2: if you are noticing that you are bombarded with negative
Speaker 2: thoughts about your family who's not helping, and you get
Speaker 2: into this automatic thought loop about they should do more,
Speaker 2: they know they this say that noticing the thought process
Speaker 2: that you're stuck in, noticing the negative feelings that come
Speaker 2: up with that, and a lot of times when we
Speaker 2: notice we're doing something that we know isn't helpful, we
Speaker 2: then start to be hard on ourselves. So instead of
Speaker 2: being critical or judgmental, I should be grateful, Why am
Speaker 2: I feeling like this? Something's wrong with me? Acknowledging those
Speaker 2: negative feelings with acceptance, with compassion, and without judgment. And
Speaker 2: when we can allow ourselves to have these negative feelings
Speaker 2: and negative thoughts without trying to get rid of them
Speaker 2: and push them away or let them take over, we
Speaker 2: can be with ourselves when we're uncomfortable and not engage
Speaker 2: in unhealthy or unhelpful behaviors.
Speaker 1: Great advice. And I think the thing that really jumps
Speaker 1: out at me that is so different from the way
Speaker 1: I approach caregiving at nineteen with my dad with Parkinson's
Speaker 1: or even later on with my son with autism, was
Speaker 1: that I never acknowledged my feelings. You know, I never
Speaker 1: there was no mindful this about Oh I'm feeling this way.
Speaker 1: It was always suppress it, suppress it. Yeah, this kid
Speaker 1: needs me right now. I don't have time to feel
Speaker 1: this way. My dad needs me right now, And that
Speaker 1: is I think so important that people allow themselves to
Speaker 1: really acknowledge that it's okay to feel that, embrace it,
Speaker 1: and then it's how you react to that and how
Speaker 1: what you do with those feelings. Right.
Speaker 2: Sometimes we interpret our negative feelings as problematic, that I
Speaker 2: shouldn't have these, they shouldn't be here, what is wrong?
Speaker 2: But negative feelings are just a part of life. They
Speaker 2: come and go like every other emotion. And when we
Speaker 2: focus in on trying to get rid of them or
Speaker 2: avoid them, we're giving them more energy than if we
Speaker 2: had just let them show up and let them leave
Speaker 2: when they were done. I have an exercise if you'd
Speaker 2: like to hear about it. It's called dropping the anchor.
Speaker 1: Oh, come on, I'm right, How we drop that? Yes?
Speaker 2: This is not my creation. This is from acceptance and
Speaker 2: Commitment therapy. Nice Russ Harris is the developer, and it's
Speaker 2: a very simple technique based on a metaphor of a
Speaker 2: boat going out to sea. When the boat's going out
Speaker 2: to sea and it notices that a storm is coming up,
Speaker 2: it's got a couple options. It's can return to the shore,
Speaker 2: but likely the storm's going to catch up to it.
Speaker 2: It can continue on its course, but then it's definitely
Speaker 2: going to meet the storm or it will drop its anchor.
Speaker 2: And usually the boat's going to drop its anchor because
Speaker 2: the anchor will steady the boat through the storm. It
Speaker 2: doesn't make the storm stop, it doesn't make the storm
Speaker 2: go any faster, but it does steady the boat while
Speaker 2: the storm passes, and once the storm is passed, it
Speaker 2: pulls up the anchor and it carries on its way.
Speaker 2: Now the boat will still rock right, the waves are
Speaker 2: still going to hit the boat, but it's not going
Speaker 2: to be as detrimental as if it had race back
Speaker 2: to shore or just sped on through the storm. So
Speaker 2: we often, whether we're a caregiver or not, can find
Speaker 2: ourselves in emotional storms where we are overwhelmed with our
Speaker 2: thoughts and our feelings and worries about the future. And
Speaker 2: we can get really caught up in those and make
Speaker 2: some poor decisions or say things we don't mean, and
Speaker 2: then of course that causes more of an emotional storm. Yes,
Speaker 2: or we can drop our anchor instead of getting swept
Speaker 2: away by that storm. We might still have some of
Speaker 2: the storm remnants going on, but we have a little
Speaker 2: bit more space to be able to act in a
Speaker 2: way that aligns with our values and keeps us from
Speaker 2: causing more harm.
Speaker 1: That's awesome the engagement. I love the engagement, and an
Speaker 1: opportunity to just drop that anchor. Yes, drop that anchor.
Speaker 1: I love that so Lindsay, it has been awesome speaking
Speaker 1: with you. Thank you so much. I know how important
Speaker 1: this topic is to so many in the caregiving journey,
Speaker 1: just understanding what burnout looks like, understanding what you might
Speaker 1: be able to do to avoid it, to prevent it,
Speaker 1: to make it less painful, and I just I'm so
Speaker 1: glad that we were able to have this conversation and
Speaker 1: just thank you so much for the work that you do.
Speaker 1: People like you I call angels on the path. Are
Speaker 1: you people that really help in situations that seem so impossible,
Speaker 1: And you'll understand what it is we need to hear
Speaker 1: at certain times that can be very, very high stressed situation.
Speaker 1: So thank you for your work in this field, and
Speaker 1: thank you for talking to us on care walks.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so grateful
Speaker 2: to be here and to share my experience, and hopefully
Speaker 2: any caregivers that are listening have some good practical takeaways
Speaker 2: to help them on their journey.
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Lindsay Pace for joining me for our
Speaker 1: last episode of care Walks. Our conversation today, and certainly
Speaker 1: all of our time together has taught me so much
Speaker 1: about prioritizing self. Care burnout is so real, and when
Speaker 1: we learn to recognize the signs and make healthier choices
Speaker 1: as caregivers, we honor our role and we honor the
Speaker 1: ones we love too. Hearing about Lindsay's work with diverse
Speaker 1: caregivers reminded me how we all walk different paths on
Speaker 1: this journey, and ultimately we can all benefit from building
Speaker 1: our caregiver community. We are stronger together and when we
Speaker 1: acknowledge our needs, remember that showing up for ourselves enables
Speaker 1: us to better show up for others. I'm sad to
Speaker 1: say goodbye for now as we close out this first
Speaker 1: season of care Walks, but i want to thank everyone
Speaker 1: who is listening for letting us join you every week
Speaker 1: on your walk. I hope you continue to use this
Speaker 1: resource throughout your caregiving. Keep walking, You're doing great, and
Speaker 1: until next time, don't forget to always take care of
Speaker 1: yourself too. Carewalks is produced by iHeartRadio in partnership with
Speaker 1: voltairean arthritis pain Gel and hosted by me Holly Robinson Pete.
Speaker 1: Our executive producer is Molly Sosha. Our head engineer is
Speaker 1: Matt Stillo. This episode was written and produced by Sierra Kaiser,
Speaker 1: with special thanks to our partners at GSK Platform, GSK,
Speaker 1: Weber Shandwick and Edelman