Caring for Caretakers
Our work as doulas gives us the ability to step back from the patient who is dying and see the larger picture. Even better, we can do something about it.
Time and Energy
Every aspect of life that requires you to show up is going to demand two major resources: time and energy. Whether the challenge is raising a family, maintaining a career, going back to school to gain new skills, or just indulging in a hobby that enriches your spirit—if you don’t put your energy into it, you won’t get good results. And if you don’t put any time in, well, it might not happen at all.
Finding Gratitude in the Hard Times
Studies have shown that taking even just a few minutes out of the day for mindfulness focused on gratitude has measurable positive effects on a person’s mental health. Whether you spend that time meditating, writing in a gratitude journal, or with someone else, sharing thoughts about what you are each grateful for, there is a very high statistical likelihood that your gratitude moments will help you to have a more positive outlook, a calmer general demeanor, and an easier time handling challenges that come your way.
My Favorite Mantras
I don’t know how many mantras a person is allowed to have but I sure do hope it’s more than one, because I personally have at least a couple dozen, some of which I have already shared with you right here on the IDLM blog.
Self Care When There’s No Time For Self Care
Autumn is just around the corner. Vacations are winding down and kids are getting ready to go back to school. Classes are even starting up again at IDLM! It’s a good time for a lot of people to take on new projects and new responsibilities, before the holidays come around again and everybody gets really […]
The Gift of Trust
A commonly held view among those who work in hospice, or with end of life patients in general, is that most people who need to go on hospice wait too long to do it. Instead of opting for hospice care when they receive their terminal diagnosis, they decide to do one more round of chemo, […]
Death Book Roundup 3
It’s time for another book round up! Who doesn’t love a little summer reading? Previous book recommendations on this blog have focused on non-fiction books and memoirs by death care professionals. This time we want to tell you about some books that really get inside the grief experience in a more personal way. Most of […]
My Love Affair With Forest Lawn
Forest Lawn is a company with several cemetery properties; by coincidence I happened to grow up just a few miles away from their main site in Glendale, California. It was a lovely place to meditate on life, death, or in my case, Poli Sci homework.
Music for End of Life
A couple weeks back, I was having a pretty rough day. One of those days where nothing seems to go right, and nothing seems to help, and the only thing you can do is give up, lie in a dark room, and listen to Simon and Garfunkel on repeat. You might have a different preference […]
Death Book Roundup 1
One of the things we all figure out pretty early on in our end of life care journey is that there is always more to know! At IDLM we make continuing education a priority for exactly that reason, to help our students and graduates add to their knowledge and keep track of new developments in […]
