Are you experiencing caregiver exhaustion? Embarking on the journey of being a caregiver for your spouse can often feel like a lonely path. It’s not uncommon for friends and family to struggle to comprehend the unique challenges you face. Adapting to the caregiver role demands a significant amount from you, and it can take aContinue reading “From Overwhelm to Empowerment: 7 Strategies to Avoid Caregiver Exhaustion”
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6 Steps to Defining the Role of Caregiver When Your Partner Is Sick
When your partner gets sick, you take on a new role: the role of caregiver. Sometimes, it happens subtly and over time. They get a diagnosis, and as the weeks and months go by while they fight the disease, you gradually take on more tasks and deal with new thoughts and emotions as a result. Continue reading “6 Steps to Defining the Role of Caregiver When Your Partner Is Sick”
The Power of Honesty When Caregiving for Your Partner
When we make the choice to spend our lives with a partner, it’s rare that we envision someday becoming their caregiver. Yet, the unpredictable nature of life means we might find ourselves in a role we never foresaw, one of being a spousal caregiver. Adapting to this role can be difficult, even for those withContinue reading “The Power of Honesty When Caregiving for Your Partner”
How to Make Tough Decisions as a Spousal Caregiver
Knowing how to make tough decisions quickly and effectively is an essential skill every spousal caregiver needs. When you’re caring for your sick partner, you’re constantly making decisions. You are faced with everything from deciding what to tell friends and family about your spouse’s illness to choosing doctors or treatments to figuring out how toContinue reading “How to Make Tough Decisions as a Spousal Caregiver”
What to Do When the Fear of Losing Your Spouse Paralyzes You
“I can’t live without my husband.” I hear this a lot from clients whose spouses have cancer. The fear of losing your spouse is completely normal, even rational, after a terminal diagnosis. When I first met with Cindy, her husband had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. They had been together since she wasContinue reading “What to Do When the Fear of Losing Your Spouse Paralyzes You”
“My Husband Has Cancer, and I Want to Leave”
Fighting cancer can be such a long road. Being a caregiver for a spouse with cancer requires stamina we are rarely prepared for. There are so many ups and downs. One week your husband is doing fine and feeling better. The next week, something comes up, and you’re back in the hospital getting more testsContinue reading ““My Husband Has Cancer, and I Want to Leave””
Getting To Know Your Anxiety When Your Partner Has Cancer
Do you experience health anxiety about cancer for your spouse? Do you have caregiver anxiety when it comes to managing your many responsibilities–none of which you were prepared for? Do you want to know how to relieve stress and anxiety quickly? You’re not alone, my friend. I’ve dealt with anxiety for most of my life.Continue reading “Getting To Know Your Anxiety When Your Partner Has Cancer”
How to Encourage Someone with Cancer & Believe in Their Strength Regardless
Knowing what to say to a cancer patient is one thing. Knowing what to say to a cancer patient who is also your partner can be even more challenging. You love them and want nothing more than to see them better. But if you’re also your partner’s caregiver, you have to take on that roleContinue reading “How to Encourage Someone with Cancer & Believe in Their Strength Regardless”
Tips for Setting Realistic Expectations for Your Spouse with Cancer
When your partner is battling cancer, it impacts both of you, but in very different ways. You may notice changes in your partner’s behavior and emotional state as they cope with the disease and treatment. They may act in ways that are difficult to understand. And as their partner and caregiver, this can be confusingContinue reading “Tips for Setting Realistic Expectations for Your Spouse with Cancer”
Cancer and Anger: How to Deal with Your Spouse’s Anger During Their Cancer Journey
One day in July, my husband scheduled a visit to the doctor to have his shoulder examined after he hurt it in a bad fall. That is when we discovered he had a cancerous tumor in his arm. It came as such a shock to both of us. Overnight, our lives turned upside down, andContinue reading “Cancer and Anger: How to Deal with Your Spouse’s Anger During Their Cancer Journey”