I am no stranger to stress while in a care-giver role.   For 3 years my siblings and I took care of our mother who was diagnosed with lung cancer and it wasn’t easy.  She wanted to stay in her own home so we came together and made that happen for her.   It isn’t always possible for families to do so and at some point a nursing home facility may be the best place.   Either way, It isn’t and wasn’t easy and it was very stressful for everyone.

For me,  I gained weight, I didn’t sleep well, I was angry and moody, and felt a huge burden that manifested by pain in my shoulders.  I was dealing with my own grief, my daughter’s grief (though she was in college at the time and I didn’t tell her everything)  and my siblings grief,  our mother’s physical symptoms and pain, doctor appointments and chemo appointments,  and so many pills that she had her own pharmacy but most of all our mothers grief, anger and emotional needs.  

However we all dealt with it the best we knew how at the time.  I didn’t know about EFT then and it would have saved us a lot of resentment, anger and overreaction to things.  We could have been more present with our mother if we had a way to release our stress and all these unresolved emotions. 

I have 2 wonderful friends, Celeste and Janet who helped me immensely as they were both going through very similar situations with Celeste’s mom in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s and Janet’s mom very sick in a nursing home.   I will never forget the day at a water aerobics class opening up about what was going on and our friendships began.   The exercise helped but again I didn’t know the power of EFT and how it can go further in not only reducing your stress but resolve unresolved emotions that are contributing to your stress.

I so get this and want to help clients in these situations so I created this tapping script for you to try.

I presented this tapping script at a nursing home community recently which was very successful in providing some stress relief for the participants.  After the class, I asked for the one takeaway from the workshop and one 86 year old woman who was taking care of her 90 year old husband who had Alzheimer’s said, ” I realize now I have the right to take care of myself too” and another woman who was a caretaker who said, she “learned how to relax herself”.

I hope this helps you!

Before beginning, calculate how stressed you feel.  What level is it from a scale of 1 to 10? 10 being the highest.  Write it down or keep that level in mind. Try to be as specific as possible.  If you don’t know the tapping points please go to my EFT tapping chart to assist you.

Starting with the KC (karate chop) point, tap the following phrase at least 1x to 3x,  “even though it is really tough at times and I don’t have the energy to give the care, and I don’t have the energy for me, I choose to deeply and completely accept myself, or I would like to think I completely accept myself.

The tap 1x to 3x around the following points as you say the reminder phrases.

TH – this is really tough

EB- it can be really tough

OE – it is challenging to be giving all the time

UE – I give so much to others, sometimes I feel I don’t have enough left over

UN – this is really hard

UL – Maybe I tell myself I have to be selfless so I have to give and give

CB – I forget that I have to take care of myself too

UA – It can be so tough

TH – Sometimes I get really frustrated

 

 

EB- sometimes I might even get angry

OE – I don’t like seeing my loved one in pain and I feel helpless

UE – sometimes I can’t take all the medical appointments

UN – sometimes it is overwhelming

UL – sometimes I feel bad

CB – What if I could choose to honor myself

UA – What if I could choose to appreciate myself

TH – What if I could choose to do something for me

EB- sometimes I might even get very tired

OE – I may even judge myself for my feelings so I push them away

UE – It isn’t fair sometimes

UN – I don’t like feeling like this

UL – I don’t like feeling bad but this is how I feel and it is the truth

CB – What if I could choose to honor myself

UA – What if I could choose to appreciate myself

TH – What if I could do something for me today

 

EB- I choose to love them and care for them

OE – I choose to feel blessed

UE – I choose to be of service

UN – I choose to help when I can but I know I need to rest too

UL – and I still choose to take care of myself too

CB – and I allow myself to feel as good as possible

UA – The better I take care of myself the most energy I have for others

TH – The better I take care of myself the better I can take care of others

I hope this has helped you. Please substitute words for your true feelings as everyone is different.

If you are a caretaker and need help and support please contact me today for your free consultation.  I offer 20 minute private consultations to see if I can help you and we are a good fit.  Don’t delay please reach out as I am here for you!