Gerry calls this workshop ‘Beautiful Care’ because to care for others is a most beautiful thing to do. It is also something that is not often appreciated, understood, acknowledged or honoured. Unfortunately ‘caring’ is sometimes looked upon as an unworthy or lowly profession. There are many carers working in institutions in society today and many countries grapple with the ‘ageing population’ effect. As well there are those who care for family members suffering debilitating illness and disability.

Those who reach out to others in our communities – who offer physical and emotional support, especially through times of illness and disability, often become overstretched in themselves to the point of physical and emotional breakdown. At times, they may be overwhelmed by the circumstances of their clients, their own sense of helplessness and what is expected of them.

Without adequate support, both physical and psychological, carers often find they are unable to cope and they themselves begin to suffer ill health – sometimes to the point of mental or physical breakdown. This, in turn, threatens the quality of care they are able to give. Sometimes feelings of resentment and frustration hinder the carer’s ability to give of their best. For this, they are often criticised and denigrated.

To care effectively, carers need to understand their own feelings and motivations and how to ensure their own well being. This includes developing the necessary skills to, not only maintain their own health, but also enhance the well being of those in their care.

This workshop is designed to assist caregivers in developing those skills.

In this workshop, we will explore the following:

Self Care

• Ways to reduce stress and worry (relates to our own attitudes and perceptions to situations, identifying our stress triggers)
• How to structure a simple self care programme (identifying and assessing our own needs and the safety nets we need to put in place in our lives to provide adequate self nurture)

Self Awareness and Self-Compassion

• Ways to gain a deeper awareness of self and how we relate to life, relationships, experiences
• Acceptance of our own strengths and weaknesses
• Rekindling the joy of living

Reaching Out to Others

• Compassionate Care – how we perceive those in our care
• Ways to enhance the caring relationship

Without adequate support, carers cannot give ‘beautiful care’. In a compassionate society, all of us need to develop a deep sense of respect and honour for the worthy contribution of others in caring for those in need. In essence, we all need to become carers of each other.