The new year is going to be unfolding in less than a month, and most of us will be engaging in the traditional planning of New Year resolutions.  It seems that resolutions are doomed to failure before they even get launched because they don’t come with an action plan.  “I’ll go to the gym every day” lacks a time schedule (when during the day will you go?), and a plan for exceptions (does this mean seven days a week, or only the work week?  What about holidays?).

Why not make a plan for 2012 that incorporates a plan for self-care that’s practical?   If the goal is to find a way to help your body reduce the impact of caregiving stress, what would your practical plan look like?

It needs to incorporate what I consider the trinity of self-care for caregivers—time off, exercise and healthy eating.  You can add more, but these three should be the foundation of your plan for 2012.

Time off  Questions to consider involve timing—when, exactly will you take time off?  Who will cover for you if you can’t leave your loved one alone?  You don’t necessarily need to have a plan for what you’ll do with that time, but it’s probably a good idea to have something planned for the first few weeks so that you have a goal to aim for until the time-off becomes a regular part of your routine.

Exercise  To be effective for stress reduction, you need to do a minimum of 30 minutes every day.  Again, you need to be fairly rigid with this until it becomes part of your normal routine.  Be creative.  You don’t need to do it in one block.  If 30 minutes all at once isn’t do-able, break it up into segments.  Do what you like so it’s not so hard to keep up.

Healthy eating  Think like an athlete in training for a big event or game—fuel your body well.  If you must go to fast food places, go to ones that prepare fresh food, like sandwich shops and Mexican grills.  If you are in a standard fast-food place, order the salads, not the cheese burger and fries.  Lose the foods that are high fat, cut back on alcohol and caffeine.  Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.  Drink at least 64 ounces of water every day.

Approach your 2012 plan as a strategy for staying strong so that you can continue to give care.  Motivate yourself to make and work your plan with this question:  If you become ill, who’s going to care for your loved one?

Blessings, Joanne