Common Self-Love Obstacles People Face pt 2

By Roz Jones

When you are trying to practice self-love, there will be a few obstacles along the way, which can derail your progress if you aren’t prepared. Being aware of common obstacles can allow you to put preventative measures in place. So, let’s look at some more of the most common obstacles caregivers and others may face when trying to practice more self-love.

Needing to be perfect

Perfectionism is a major obstacle to self-love. While a little perfectionism can be a good thing, especially in business, it can also lead to disappointment, frustration, and unhappiness.

When you feel like everything must be perfect, you will be devastated when you fall short. Try and let go of your need for perfection. Understand where your need for perfection comes from. Try to identify triggers so you can set up some preventative measures. Remember, nobody is perfect, not even you!

Not understanding how to love yourself

The biggest barrier to self-love is not understanding how to love yourself. Many people don’t fully understand what self-love means. They mistakenly think it is about doing things you want to do, rather than what you need.

Self-love isn’t just about treating yourself; it is about making sure you are truly fulfilling your needs. For example, if you want to lose weight, indulging in junk food isn’t going to help, even though it might be bringing temporary joy. Instead, a healthier diet and exercise routine is considered a form of self-love, as it helps you to become healthier and fulfils the body’s needs.

These are just some of the common obstacles to self-love we should all be aware of. Awareness grants you the ability to overcome them. Finding people you trust and who build you up is a big part of being able to practice self-love. However, it’s important to be your own personal cheerleader too. Don’t forget that to love and care for our loved ones, we must first love and care for ourselves!

It’s here, I am so excited to share a new caregiver app called Circleof….This app will allow you to surround yourself with resources and experts from your community including ME!!!! As you are looking through the app, you will see my familiar face. I’m excited about this partnership and new ways to support you as you support your loved one. Here’s the link so you can explore the app. I would love your feedback and spread the word by sharing the link to family and friends.

Medicare Open Enrollment starts October 15th!

Navigating the Medicare Open Enrollment process can be confusing and difficult your first time, and I want to help out! For caregivers and their loved ones who are in need of advice and help planning their Medicare enrollment, I’m offering a discounted counseling session for just $97 through the end of October! Go to https://rozjonesent.com to sign up!

Interested in making your own contribution to the Caregiver Cafe? There are guest blog spots open for October, November, and December. Email assistrozjones@gmail.com for more info!

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

Common Self-Love Obstacles People Face

By Roz Jones

When you are trying to practice self-love, there will be a few obstacles along the way, which can derail your progress if you aren’t prepared. Being aware of common obstacles can allow you to put preventative measures in place. So, let’s look at some of the most common obstacles caregivers and others may face when trying to practice more self-love.

Toxic People and Relationships

A major obstacle to self-love is toxic people. If you are surrounded by people who drain your energy and have a negative outlook, you’re going to struggle to practice self-love.

Surround yourself with positive, healthy relationships. While all relationships go through hard times, for the most part they should lift you up and make you feel positively about yourself. So, if you have relationships that cause you more misery than happiness, now is the time to take a step back and focus on healthier, happier relationships.

Feelings of guilt and selfishness

Another big barrier to practicing self-love is feelings of guilt and selfishness. It is common to feel like self-love is selfish. This can lead to feelings of guilt when you attempt to focus more on yourself.

Please understand the importance of self-love. It isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity for your health and wellbeing. It certainly isn’t selfish so you should not feel guilty for trying to love yourself more. We cannot love others properly, or care for them for that matter, if we don’t love ourselves.

Check back later this week for more tips on building up your self-love!

Interested in making your own contribution to the Caregiver Cafe? There are guest blog spots open for October, November, and December. Email assistrozjones@gmail.com for more info!

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on staying healthy as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

When Anxiety Strikes

By Roz Jones

Panic attacks can be the bane of your existence, and can make caring for a loved one or even living your daily life extremely daunting. Never knowing when – or why – an attack can hit makes life unpredictable. Searching for a way to control your anxiety is a natural step to take.

Most anxiety attacks come on suddenly – however, there are usually warning signs. It may only be a few seconds’ warning, but if we try to identify the signs, we may be able to lessen our symptoms. Some people experience chest tightening, lightheadedness, or shaking – all are the immediate signs of a rush of adrenaline. Adrenaline is one of the main identifiable reasons for an anxiety attack.

As soon as you feel an attack beginning to develop, stop what you are doing. If you’re driving, pull over. If you’re standing or walking, sit down. As the attack begins to flower, take slow, steady breaths. Breathe in for five seconds, and out for five seconds. One of the main things people do when they are experiencing an anxiety attack is to breathe in short, sharp gasps; by slowing and focusing on your breathing, you are distracting your mind and resetting the scales.

Keep breathing in this fashion. If necessary, close your eyes and tilt your head back so you have a clear throat passage for air to move through. You may also find some form of self-comforting useful; try rubbing the side of your wrist with a fingertip. Remain calm, focus on your breathing and rest until the feeling has passed.

Medicare Open Enrollment starts October 15th!

Interested in making your own contribution to the Caregiver Cafe? There are guest blog spots open for October, November, and December. Email assistrozjones@gmail.com for more info!

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

3 Steps For Getting Into The Flow

By Roz Jones

Let’s talk about getting into the flow. You know what I’m talking about, that special state of mind we reach sometimes – quite by accident – where work starts to flow effortlessly and we get an insane amount of it done in a short period of time. It’s a great feeling and something well worth trying to get into more regularly. Here’s how to do just that.

Step 1 – Get Prepared

Start by getting yourself prepared. It’s hard to get into the flow when you’re constantly having to get up to grab more supplies or grab a file. And it’s not just the stuff away from your desk. You don’t want a train of thought to be interrupted so you can go find a figure or a document on your computer.

Prepare as much as you can. Make sure you have all things and information you may need at your fingertips. Of course that isn’t always possible, as new ideas and things pop up while you’re working, but do your best to eliminate having to stop and look when you’re in the flow.

Step 2 – Get Comfy

Next it’s time to get comfortable. That means finding a comfortable chair and desk to work at, but also create a setting that’s conducive to flow. What motivates and inspires you? Is it music, scent, pictures of your family, or the calendar with the project outline posted on it? Use whatever it takes to transport yourself into the flow state.

Step 3 – Get Your Head In The Game

Last but not least, you need to get your head in the game. Getting into the flow is mostly mental. Yes, the outside stuff we talked about helps, but you can sabotage all the preparation in the world if you go in with a bad attitude.

Instead, spend a few minutes visualizing what it feels like to be in the flow. Then think about why it is important to get this work done. Who will it benefit? What impact will it have on you, your job, your family? Find some internal motivation to make you want to get this done. That’s when you’re ready to get to work and get into the flow.

Give this three step process a try and use it anytime you want to get more done in less time. As an added bonus, you’ll find you’ll have more fun doing your work and you’re gaining a lot of pride for a job well done in a timely manner. And let’s not forget that this leaves you plenty of time leftover for the important stuff – spending time with your loved ones and relaxing with one of your favorite hobbies.

Interested in making your own contribution to the Caregiver Cafe? There are guest blog spots open for October, November, and December. Email assistrozjones@gmail.com for more info!

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on staying healthy as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

Knowing Your Triggers and Dealing With Them

By Roz Jones

Most sufferers of anxiety disorders have one or more “triggers” which can set off an attack at a moment’s notice. These triggers tend to be associated with the specific source of their anxiety – whether it be health, money, or any of a wide range of issues – and become identifiable to the sufferer within a short time of becoming active.

For any given sufferer of an anxiety disorder, their triggers are a serious issue. The first time most sufferers become aware of their trigger is after it has occurred. For a sufferer of health anxiety, it may be a mere word that describes a symptom. The trigger commences a chain of thought in the sufferer’s mind that ends with a full-blown anxiety attack – which can last for some time and have long-ranging effects.

Even for those without anxiety disorders, there can be circumstances or things that happen or that others say that cause us to feel uncomfortable, stressed, or maybe a little anxious. The same lesson can be applied to try to learn from these experiences to help us grow despite our triggers. It’s also important for us as caregivers to recognize that this may happen in our loved ones, help them recognize it in themselves, and learn ways together to prevent stressful or uncomfortable circumstances.

It is important for any sufferer to look back in the immediate aftermath of an attack and think about what must have been the trigger. Revisiting this may hold its own fears – if it triggered an event before, what’s to say it will not do the same again? Usually, it is the fact that anxiety attacks are not sustainable. By doing this in the aftermath, it is possible to see the trigger for what it was, and although it may not be permanently deactivated it is possible to forestall it happening again.

When you know your triggers, it is possible to deal with them by excising them from your daily life – although this only works short-term – or by exposure therapy. Eventually you can prove to yourself that the trigger only has short-lived power, and that you are stronger.

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!