Shannon reflects on the hidden struggles of caregiving, shares a reframing that caregiving and receiving care touch everyone, and offers empathy for feelings of isolation while encouraging connection within the caregiving community.
Shannon from Cadre talks about things we aren't supposed to talk about as a caregiver. We sometimes, as caregivers, can feel. like we're in a alone, right? We are living in a world that not everyone understands all the things that can make you feel isolated and lonely.
Today on caregiver day on Cadre, Colleen is up next. She's sandwiched generation taking care of a mother with dementia. If you're feeling alone, even single moms, you're not alone. You're one of many who are giving, receiving, facilitating care for someone else.
Cadre friends, good morning. It is Shannon from Cadre. I am at a stoplight and I should not be doing my live from a stoplight, but as many of you know, who wear many hats and have many roles, you're trying to do a million things at once. Okay, I'm going to tell you something today that made me happy in the last week. And for those of you who haven't met me, my name is Shannon. I am part of the Cadre team. I'm here to talk about things we aren't supposed to talk about as a caregiver. I am not a clinician.
I am not a mental health professional. I am a caregiver of a son with autism. And I also have anxiety and CPTSd myself. So I have my own mental health stuff. Okay, so here's what I want to say to you today. We sometimes, as caregivers, can feel. I feel like we can feel like we're in a alone, right? We are one of a few. We are living in a world that not everyone understands all the things that can make you feel isolating and lonely to be a caregiver. And I heard a quote the other day, friends, I'm going to pull over quick because I feel like this isn't safe.
Good morning, everyone. I don't want to be a bad example, so I'm going to quick, do a quick pullover here because like I said, I don't want to get into a bad situation. Okay. Thank you for your. Thank you for your patience with me. Good morning, friends. Good morning, Jules. Good morning, Steph. Good morning, doctor Leslie Davis. Hello, everyone. Okay, so here's what I have for you today. I heard a quote recently that said if you're not a caregiver now, you will be a caregiver. You either will receive care, you will be a caregiver in the future.
You will have already received care at some point in your life. And I can't remember the other part of the quote, but here's my point. If we today, and I raise my hand in this, can say I am a part of this group that feels isolating and lonely, and I feel like I am living this world where I have to hide the things that are hard about being a caregiver. If I sort of go out into the world with that mentality, I'm going to feel alone and I'm going to feel isolated and I'm going to feel all the things.
And if I reframe it as the quote that I heard, which is every single person in this world is going to be a caregiver, receive care and be in that circle in some way, which is the truth. At some point in your life, you will receive care. Whether it's from a doctor or a nurse or. Or a child or a person, you will receive care. And if I reframe it that way, I feel less alone. And I know that my moment in time as a caregiver, this moment that I am living through, that feels isolating and lonely and all the things actually is incredibly normal, that is going to give me some peace and some comfort.
And so that's truly the short and the sweet of what I have for you today, is that it's that you're not alone. It's that you're one of many. You're one of many here in this Cadre sphere. You're one of many who are giving, receiving, facilitating care for someone else, for yourself. And so I just want to remind you that look at all these people here. These are all people just like you. So if you're feeling alone, even single moms, right? I'm a single mom. I can feel at times like I'm alone in this.
The truth is, I'm not alone in this. I have many people living the same experience, and that is why we're here, to remind ourselves of that. So I appreciate your patience. As you can obviously tell, I'm sitting in my car doing too many things at once. But I'm glad you're here. And I wanted to show up today for all of you. I wanted to see your little tiny faces in these little things, but I appreciate you. I'm sorry. Speak, wonder. Someone validated you. It's true, right? It's true. It's true. Speak, wonder.
And so today on caregiver day on Cadre, Colleen is up next. She's sandwiched generation taking care of a mother with dementia. Speak, wonder. Otherwise, aka Kathy Joy is going to show up later today as well. She's going to help us as caregivers. Go back and watch Steph Irwin this morning. JC Lippold is coming up. Our beautiful Mac clinician friends. For those autism caregivers out there, go back and watch our Q and A from last Thursday night with, honestly, the cutest doctor and I know this is the cutest doctor you've ever seen.
He is fantastic. Doctor Andy, we did a Q and a last Thursday night about what? If you think something's wrong with your kid or yourself, how do you navigate that? And so I just want to offer to you all, we're here together in this year. I love seeing all of you. You're going to have a beautiful day and keep continuing to come back and see us here in the Cadre sphere. We're grateful for you and for everything you do. Have a great day, guys. Bye.
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