This month I am dedicating my editorial to both glaucoma and thyroid information as January is both glaucoma and thyroid awareness month. So here is the journey I have had with both of these important subjects.

As a caregiver you understand the wild swing of emotions you can experience on any given day. This is completely normal. But while you are tending to your loved ones’ needs, you can also help transform your emotional wounds through resilient healing.

I recently lost my Mother and Boston Terrier, Maggy, within a span of three weeks, so this may come across raw and possibly too much information (TMI) but I think it will convey an honest and real account of how as caregivers we need to be extremely mindful of our own self-care and feeding our souls.

The start of a new year can be an emotional time. We may think about all the Loved Ones who we have lost over the past year and prior years, or start to list who we are worried about losing in the coming year.

Stress is a part of life, something we all bump up against sooner or later, and how we handle it matters more than we think. Taking the time to really pinpoint what gets under our skin gives us a shot at easing some of that burden, piece by piece. Little steps—whether tweaking our habits or making bigger adjustments—can make life feel a bit more balanced, a bit more manageable. And when we start to accept these small changes, we often find ourselves handling stress with just a bit more grit and maybe even a sense of purpose.

Being a primary caregiver to a loved one has its own unique set of challenges. You want to provide the best possible care and environment for your loved one. However, the never ending “to do” list causes you burnout and stress. The need for self-care is not selfish, it is absolutely necessary. Think about the safety instructions on an airplane… “put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping those around you.” The same is true for caregivers. Take care of yourself first. You are no good to anyone else if you are depleted.

Being a caregiver is an emotionally taxing role, regardless of your personality. However, for empaths – people who possess an extraordinary ability to feel the emotions and pain of others as if it is their own – the task can become even more challenging. If you are an empath, you already know this, especially if you are in the thick of caregiving now.

There are many things I’ll discuss in the Love in Action blog but the first and most important lesson I have learned is that you absolutely MUST take care of yourself.

And if you are a caregiver, it’s even more important. Because as a caregiver you have people who are counting on you and there are no such things as sick day.