F is for Friends

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting.


Friends.


It is vital to have a social circle where one can simply be oneself, speak ones mind, not be judged for it and be sure it doesn’t end up as gossip. Friends can lend a patient ear to care givers and often that is all that is required. It may so happen that by sharing our problems (while taking care of our wards), our friends may also have been in a similar situation and offer useful timely advice. 


It doesnt have to be several people, even one good friend is enough. Someone you can call and speak with any time. 


I have drawn strength from our interactions with our friends and urge all care-givers to do so. 


Such friendships do not develop overnight. They need to be nurtured. Selflessly. 


A True Friend. Be one to someone and you will have someone standing  by you!
Of course, it could be a family member or spouse who is your pillar of support. 


Having said this, there is a flip side as well.

In my experience, there can be some so-called ‘friends’ who end up giving us negativity, low morale after meeting them. Many people of this category tell us sad stories of someone in a similar situation or dire endings.  They don’t really have anything concrete to offer. Such talk can also disturb our wards. I would suggest staying away from such individuals. I have firmly but politely dissuaded such visitors even at the cost of  being ‘branded’ as snobbish. Some members of the family too may fall in this category and they have got the same treatment. 


Its up to us as care givers to stay positive, motivated, happy and aim for the same mental frame for our wards. 


There is no one size fits all solution. 
Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan. 


And here is my sketch for the day…

art therapy, cupcake, sketching

See you tomorrow folks!
Stay happy!

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