The Soul of Caregiving (Revised Edition): A Caregiver's Guide to Healing and Transformation

The Soul of Caregiving (Revised Edition): A Caregiver's Guide to Healing and Transformation PDF Author: Edward M. Smink
Publisher: Wise Media Group
ISBN: 9781629672243
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
2022 Revised Edition Who are the caregivers? We all are, for at the heart of being human is the capacity to care, to reach out to others and explore the relationships we build. The Soul of Caregiving is about us, and how we, as caregivers, serve, even sacrifice, for those in need. I invite you to explore with me how we can partake in a kind of sacred journey exploring our experiences as caregivers. Who will be your guide on this journey? Unlike other pilgrims who have a guide assigned to them, you will soon discover it is your own Soul guiding you. We may be professionally skilled to meet the needs of others, but we must also learn to stop and rest. It is not a waste of time, but rather, a necessity. We need time to ponder, reflect, and grow from our experiences. Not an easy endeavor amid a whirlwind of activity. We, as caregivers, experience vulnerability, helplessness, fears, and pain over the traumatic events we experience because we care. We care about those whom we are called to serve. Compassion fatigue arises because we care. Overview of the Chapters Chapter 1 begins by outlying the tension most caregivers experience: the tension their own needs and the needs of those they care for. I call this tension the Dance of Caregiving. Chapter 2 discusses the importance of discovering interior strengths and values where one discovers Soul. Chapter 3 emphasizes caregivers do not care in a vacuum, as there are broad cultural boundaries and expectations which affect them and shape their behaviors. Chapter 4 describes The Archetype of Caregiving, both its strengths and shadow sides. This archetype also relates to several other leadership archetypes, which are also discussed. Chapter 5 discusses hospitality. This chapter positions the caregiver as the host who experiences three different dimensions of hospitality: to host the stranger, to listen to the stories of the guest, and to reflect on their reactions and experiences. Chapter 6 address the frailty of humankind and the notion that we are wounded healers. Chapter 7 addresses the art of reflection as a fundamental skill for caregivers. Chapter 8 argues that the essential actions of a caregiver are spiritual. Chapter 9 explores how the ordinary becomes spiritual as inner strengths and values give birth to meaning, insight, and transformation. Chapter 10 explores compassion fatigue and its two sisters, secondary traumatic stress disorder and burnout. In this chapter, we learn how to recover from compassion fatigue and burnout by building compassion resilience. At the end of each chapter, the reader is invited to ponder and reflect. Your insights are the gold hidden beneath the sands of confusion. Mining these insights will lead to a greater understanding of your strengths and values. The questions at the end of each chapter help facilitate this process.

The Soul of Caregiving (Revised Edition): A Caregiver's Guide to Healing and Transformation

The Soul of Caregiving (Revised Edition): A Caregiver's Guide to Healing and Transformation PDF Author: Edward M. Smink
Publisher: Wise Media Group
ISBN: 9781629672243
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book

Book Description
2022 Revised Edition Who are the caregivers? We all are, for at the heart of being human is the capacity to care, to reach out to others and explore the relationships we build. The Soul of Caregiving is about us, and how we, as caregivers, serve, even sacrifice, for those in need. I invite you to explore with me how we can partake in a kind of sacred journey exploring our experiences as caregivers. Who will be your guide on this journey? Unlike other pilgrims who have a guide assigned to them, you will soon discover it is your own Soul guiding you. We may be professionally skilled to meet the needs of others, but we must also learn to stop and rest. It is not a waste of time, but rather, a necessity. We need time to ponder, reflect, and grow from our experiences. Not an easy endeavor amid a whirlwind of activity. We, as caregivers, experience vulnerability, helplessness, fears, and pain over the traumatic events we experience because we care. We care about those whom we are called to serve. Compassion fatigue arises because we care. Overview of the Chapters Chapter 1 begins by outlying the tension most caregivers experience: the tension their own needs and the needs of those they care for. I call this tension the Dance of Caregiving. Chapter 2 discusses the importance of discovering interior strengths and values where one discovers Soul. Chapter 3 emphasizes caregivers do not care in a vacuum, as there are broad cultural boundaries and expectations which affect them and shape their behaviors. Chapter 4 describes The Archetype of Caregiving, both its strengths and shadow sides. This archetype also relates to several other leadership archetypes, which are also discussed. Chapter 5 discusses hospitality. This chapter positions the caregiver as the host who experiences three different dimensions of hospitality: to host the stranger, to listen to the stories of the guest, and to reflect on their reactions and experiences. Chapter 6 address the frailty of humankind and the notion that we are wounded healers. Chapter 7 addresses the art of reflection as a fundamental skill for caregivers. Chapter 8 argues that the essential actions of a caregiver are spiritual. Chapter 9 explores how the ordinary becomes spiritual as inner strengths and values give birth to meaning, insight, and transformation. Chapter 10 explores compassion fatigue and its two sisters, secondary traumatic stress disorder and burnout. In this chapter, we learn how to recover from compassion fatigue and burnout by building compassion resilience. At the end of each chapter, the reader is invited to ponder and reflect. Your insights are the gold hidden beneath the sands of confusion. Mining these insights will lead to a greater understanding of your strengths and values. The questions at the end of each chapter help facilitate this process.

The Soul of Caregiving

The Soul of Caregiving PDF Author: Edward M Smink
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781629671260
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Who are the caregivers? We all are, for at the heart of being human is the capacity to care, to reach out to others and explore the relationships we build. The Soul of Caregiving is about us and how we, as caregivers, serve, even sacrifice, for those in need. I invite you to explore with me how we have the opportunities to partake in a kind of pilgrimage along the path of our experiences as caregivers. Who will be your guide on this journey? Unlike other pilgrims who have a guide assigned to them, you will soon discover it is your own Soul guiding you. Professionally skilled as we may be to meet the needs of others, a fundamental core component of our busy lives as caregivers, is the necessity to stop and rest. It is not a waste of time, but rather a luxury of time, to ponder, reflect, and grow from our experiences. Not an easy endeavor in the midst of a whirlwind of activity. We, as caregivers, experience vulnerability, helplessness, fears, and pain over the traumatic events we experience because we care. We care about those whom we are called to serve. Compassion fatigue comes about because we care. In Chapter One, I call this tension between activity and reflection, "the Dance of Caregiving," a dance between the caregiver's needs and those of the one in need. The chapter is an introduction to exploring something we do every day: to reflect on our experiences. Chapter Two, "Reclaiming Soul," asks the question, "What is Soul?" and how is the caregiver empowered and sustained. Discovering Soul implies going deeper into the inner caverns of our being and listening to the inner beats of our heart where insight and wisdom abide. "Once Upon a Time in the Land of OZ," Chapter Three, explores the universal underpinnings of the role of caregiving, as each profession exists in the broader mythic and archetypal realm of a culture. In Chapter Four, "Truce or Consequences," both the mythos and logos of caregiving are explored. Each relates to faithless science and unscientific faith, leading to a unity of the left and right brain functions. "The Ins and Outs of Hospitality," in Chapter Five, discusses how the caregiver, as host, experiences three different dimensions of hospitality: the caregiver who hosts the stranger, the caregiver who hosts his or her reactions and experiences, and thirdly, the caregiver who welcomes the stories of the guests they host. Chapter Six, "Love is a Wounded Healer," addresses an ancient question of the frailty of humankind. There is within each of us a space that seeks wholeness and transformation, an area of woundedness which often shows its face in the midst of our caregiving. "Cultivating the Soul's Garden," Chapter Seven, addresses the art of reflection as a fundamental skill for caregivers. An understanding of Soul implies allowing the moment to take root and to reflect on how to nourish and sustain ourselves as caregivers. Chapter Eight focuses on "Spirituality: The Sinew of Human Experience" where imagination helps one discover meaning, arguing that the essential actions of a caregiver are spiritual. In Chapter Nine "Practice, Practice, Practice" I explore what a practice is and how caregiving is a spiritual practice. The ordinary becomes spiritual, as inner strengths and values give birth to meaning, insight, and transformation. The Soul of Caregiving concludes with Chapter Ten, "Warning: Our Tank is Almost Empty" which explores compassion fatigue and its two sisters, secondary traumatic stress and burnout. We experience compassion fatigue because we care. We look at how to recognize the warning signs, take action to avoid them, and learn how to recover from them in building compassion resilience.

Caregiving

Caregiving PDF Author: Douglas C. Smith
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 0470336889
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 138

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Book Description
One of America's leading hospice experts offers practical, easy-to-follow advice for caregivers and a holistic approach to treating the infirm or the terminally ill. Author Douglas C. Smith organizes his material around "A Bill of Patient's Rights," a unique system he has taught to thousands throughout the country. He explains that the caregiver should enable patients to retain these rights: to be in control * to have a sense of purpose * to know the truth to be comfortable * to touch and be touched * to laugh to cry and express anger * to explore the spiritual to have a sense of family Included are easy-to-follow techniques and practical tools for improving care: assessment techniques dialogues meditations life reviews breathing exercises body revitalization methods ways that patients can evaluate and improve their own care and many others. Filled with inspirational stories and effective guidance, Caregiving also addresses how to communicate with difficult patients and those in denial, how to facilitate non-stressful family interaction, and other important topics. It will be invaluable to parents and children caring for their elders; physicians and nurses; social workers and home health aides; members of the clergy; and all facing the challenge of enriching patients' lives and spirits. Visit us online at http://www.mcp.com/mgr/macmillan

Creative Healing Through Transformation

Creative Healing Through Transformation PDF Author: Donna Fitzgerald
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781777549503
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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Book Description
This self-guide workbook supports caregivers seeking authentic self-discovery and ease before, during, and after caring for their loved one.

Caregiving

Caregiving PDF Author: Beth Witrogen McLeod
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN:
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Helping your family and loved ones when they need you most "Caregiving has a big heart-on a much-needed topic. A rare book of spiritual and practical wisdom." —Sue Bender, author of Plain and Simple and Everyday Sacred "A poignant, wise, and in-the-trenches view of caregiving that is both practical and spiritual, especially of value to midlife adults." —Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., author of Goddesses in Everywoman and Close to the Bone "Lovely. . . . Beth McLeod's experience and wisdom shine through as she shares her heartfelt journey of loss, surrender, hope, and healing." —David Simon, M.D. medical director, the Chopra Center for Well Being, author of Vital Energy and Return to Wholeness Sooner or later it will touch us all: A family member or loved one becomes ill or disabled, and we step in to help. This is caregiving, and in this powerful, unique book, prizewinning writer and advocate Beth Witrogen McLeod leads us through the caregiving journey with unflinching authority and compassion. Framed by the author's personal odyssey as a caregiver and richly informed by the inspiring and poignant tales of others, Caregiving explores medical and financial problems, all aspects of spirituality, and such issues as depression, stress, housing, home care, and end-of-life concerns. A rare blend of powerful storytelling and practical information, Caregiving is a revelation.

Contemplative Caregiving

Contemplative Caregiving PDF Author: John Eric Baugher
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834841991
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Integrating two decades of hospice care and social science research, this heartfelt book offers practical lessons on the transformative possibilities of end-of-life caregiving. Contemplative Caregiving is an indispensable guide for end-of-life caregivers and for anyone seeking to transform experiences of caregiving and grief. Rather than leading to burnout and despair, caring for those who are suffering and dying can enrich our lives with meaning and further our own spiritual growth and resilience. Whether you are caring for a loved one with cancer or dementia, grieving a sudden traumatic loss, or even serving time in prison, Contemplative Caregiving offers encouragement for showing up to the fullness of life in whatever those circumstances may be. Healing, compassion, and spiritual growth are available to us all, in this lifetime, right now. Baugher’s unique style of integrating social scientific research on caregiving and grief with teachings from Buddhist, contemplative Christian, and other wisdom traditions illuminates how we each can transform experiences of loss and suffering into a path of compassion. Contemplative Caregiving weaves together powerful stories from interviews with diverse hospice caregivers—Vietnam veterans, nurses, housewives, Catholic nuns, those convicted of murder—with the author’s own journey toward wholeness in the face of grief and traumatic loss, including the murder of his own mother. Through rich storytelling, teachings on compassion, and skillful contemplative exercises, Baugher invites you to join him in exploring the healing power of contemplative caregiving.

The Family Caregiver's Guide

The Family Caregiver's Guide PDF Author: Harriet Hodgson
Publisher: Family Caregivers
ISBN: 9781608081264
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Caring for a loved one at home. What's really involved? And what does it mean for your family and future? Tens of millions of Americans have had these questions and more as they prepare for this unsettling yet necessary task. The Family Caregiver's Guide fills in the gaps, connecting the dots between research and real life. Drawing on the author' s extensive caregiving experience, this book provides strategies to care for your loved one, inside and out, as well as for yourself including how to use your natural skills in your new role, and which skills you may need to add. You will discover how to set up your home for caregiving, including a safety checklist, equipment suggestions, and words you should know. And for those days that are more than a handful, you'll find positive affirmations, a section on facing and accepting illness, and smart steps at the end of each chapter, in case you need guidance in a hurry. Caregiving has both rewards and challenges. But through it all, you'll discover what's most important that caregiving is love in action.--Publisher.

The Unexpected Journey of Caring

The Unexpected Journey of Caring PDF Author: Donna Thomson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 9781538174050
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Unexpected Journey of Caring is a practical guide to finding personal meaning in the 21st century care experience. Readers are invited to actively reclaim and remake how they think of themselves, their care situation, and their capacities to provide care for their loved one and themselves.

The Caregiver's Guide

The Caregiver's Guide PDF Author: Caroline Rob
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


The Hospice Doctor's Widow

The Hospice Doctor's Widow PDF Author: Jennifer O'Brien
Publisher: Et Alia Press
ISBN: 9781944528096
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
Everyone facing death--their own or a loved one's--benefits from this love story and practical guide in one. As a hospice doctor, Bob cared daily for dying patients. At home, his wife, Jen, listened to the stories of patients and families, layering her understanding of death with the early losses of her own brother and mother. Then, the man who had spent a 40-year career caregiving was diagnosed with advanced, metastatic cancer. An insightful blend of art and compassion, patience and endearing honesty, this book comprises Jen's digital art journal, which chronicles this time in their marriage. What began as a visceral, self-care compulsion within days of diagnosis became notes, collages, and images revealing the raw, luminescent reflections of a caregiver-turned-widow. Beyond the practical guidance and solace offered by an insider, Jen's journal reminds us how to live presently during our darkest hours, honor grief, and discover--even after devastating loss--ways to forge forward.