Prioritizing Peace

This week in our Rare Family Dynamics group, we talked about how to maintain your self-care as your responsibilities grow in caring for your Rare child.

What helps you find peace in the hard moments?

Self-care time

It can be helpful to pause for just two minutes. You might set a timer to go off once an hour and when it does you close your eyes and pause in meditation or prayer for two minutes. This is a way of training yourself to be in the present moment.

The wandering mind

The opportunity is to notice when and how your mind wanders. See if you can watch how your thoughts take you away from the present moment. Maybe they are thoughts about scary things that could happen. Maybe they are thoughts about all of the things that you do not have control over. Whatever they are, acknowledge them, feel your feelings, and then set them aside.

Remember, every breath is an invitation into presence and peace.

Ask for help

Your needs are important too. Even though it can be hard, ask for help when you need it. People like to help. It makes them feel useful.

Look for solutions

What if you were to accept the good enough solution? It’s like if you were drowning in the ocean, and someone threw you a life ring, you would grab it. Then, they would pull you into the lifeboat and finally, you would climb aboard a real boat that would take you to land and safety. 

Prioritize peace

You can cultivate peace by connecting with yourself more often throughout your day. It’s true that your peace gets interrupted by calls from the insurance company, doctors, and many other things. You might even feel like you are getting interrupted 1 million times a day. Even with your daily tasks and the burdens that you are shouldering, you can make small deposits in your peace bank. They add up.

Notice the good things

As psychologist Rick Hansen says, you can hardwire happiness, one moment at a time. Notice the moments where you are feeling good, where the sun is shining or where you are feeling successful. Take a breath and pause. Experience how you feel in your body and your heart. Receive the goodness. You can do this each time you recognize you are experiencing a positive moment. Practice this and watch your peace bank grow.

Coming up this week Self-Care: Losing Yourself and Becoming Resourced

As a raregiver, it can be easy to lose yourself in caring for your child or children. You may experience a radical shift in your perspective on life when being the parent of a Rare child becomes your primary identity. When this happens, self-care often drops to the bottom of your impossibly long to do list. 

Priorities shift and you dive headlong into learning everything about your child’s Rare disease as well as managing their daily care. Please join us for a conversation with other Rare caregivers who are discovering ways to resource themselves as they care for their Rare families. Bring an open heart and trust that you have wisdom to share.

You Belong 

As a Raregiver, you belong here. We gather from across the world to support each other. You are not alone. Come as you are.

Your presence is a contribution.

Zoom Link: Click Here

We look forward to being with you soon,

Padma