The Silver Lining of Caregiver Stress

by Bev Janisch

Your mind is a constant traffic of thoughts, and it is always rush hour, day in, day out.  Meditation means to watch the movement of the thoughts in the mind- Osho

I am sitting in the hospital room with my father who was admitted to acute care after having extreme side effects from his cancer treatments. My mother is in another hospital being treated for heart issues. All of this is happening at the same time, and I'm thinking this is the perfect time to reflect on and write about stress.

I know it sounds strange that I believe there is actually a silver lining to stress.  Experiencing stress and then acknowledging it, can be a motivating factor to try and find ways to experience less stress and become more peaceful.  Stress, regardless of the source contributes to many health issues and wreaks havoc on the body, mind and spirit.

There is no doubt that Alzheimer's caregivers experience a lot of stress, and unlike my situation, the stress often goes on for long periods of time.  Finding ways to deal with stress is the blessing as once a person has some tools to deal it, they can use these tools in all aspects of their life. We can't control the fact that someone we love has Alzheimer's disease, but we can control what we think about it and how we respond.

A few months ago, I began to practice meditation. I started at 5 minutes a day as I really didn't think I could do it. I have stuck with it, gradually increased the time and have been amazed by the effects. I feel more calm, peaceful and less scattered and I've had the opportunity to test how I'm doing with the recent situation with my parents. Meditation has helped me observe my thoughts and return to a feeling of peace when I start to feel stressed. Before meditation, I didn't notice that I was stressed as I wasn't aware of what was going on in my body or in my mind.

Meditation, can be done anytime, anywhere and doesn't require any special equipment. The ability to return to this place of calm is an amazing gift and is always with you as you travel through the day. I started with the Chopra Center 21 Day Meditation Challenge, an app you can download ( the first three days are free and then it's .99 cents a day).  It was a great introduction to meditation which required a very small time commitment. After 21 days of doing it , I couldn't imagine my life without it.    Having the ability to soothe yourself in times of stress is a gift well worth the practice that it takes to do it.  So give it a try and let me know what you experience!!