You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8 NLT

*Be sure to reach out for help with your sadness if it is overwhelming. There are so many who will be happy to help you.
 
Tears are a gift so give yourself permission to have a good cry.

Active Self-Care

Face your emotions
Emotions are neutral. Feeling them fully is a blessing as they are simply telling you that you are carrying a burden that is too heavy for you to handle. Tears can provide a release of pent up emotions so they don’t stay in your body as stress symptoms such as fatigue or pain. To stay healthy and release stress, I encourage you to cry.

Refuse to apologize for your tears
Most people say, “Please excuse me for crying. I am trying hard not to because it makes me feel weak.” The opposite is true. It takes strength and self-awareness to cry. Crying makes you feel better, even when a problem persists. Tears are part of the process that can heal your heart. You don’t want to hold tears back. For both men and women, tears are a sign of courage, strength, and authenticity.

Ride the wave to comfort
The basic principle in my book, The Power of Hope in Mourning: Ride the Waves to Comfort is to welcome the wave of grief every time you feel it hit you. Tears help you process loss in the right way so you can keep living with an open heart. As tears hit you unexpectedly when someone asks you how your loved one is doing just stop for a few minutes. Open up and let them know you need help in your caregiving journey.

Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for caring about our sadness. It is amazing to me that you take the time to keep track of all our sorrow. It’s never too much for You. In fact, it’s so precious to You, that You have a special bottle where you collect these tears. You write them down in your book. You embrace us and comfort us as we mourn. You are so close when our hearts are broken. We are grateful and will cherish our tears in the same way You do.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Here are more letters of the ABCs of Self-Care for Caregivers - so far:

Accept Your Role with Honor

Bounce Back with Hope

Celebrate Everything

Dance with Abandon

Eat Right and Enjoy Every Bite

Forgive Freely

Go Outside

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