MARCH THEME: MINDFULNESS

"The richness of present-moment experience is the richness of life itself. Too often we let our thinking and our beliefs about what we ‘know’ prevent us from seeing things as they really are."

- Jon Kabat-Zinn

I don't know about you, but I find mindfulness extremely hard! With so many people, events, responsibilities, and stresses crowding for attention, finding the space and time to sit and be mindful feels downright impossible at times. For caregivers especially, practicing mindfulness can feel particularly difficult as we navigate the needs of our loved ones, often prioritizing their needs over our own.

However, as we emphasize at Courage to Caregivers, we cannot care for our loved ones without also caring for ourselves. MINDFULNESS is the practice of being aware of and accepting our thoughts, emotions, senses, and environment. (Source)

The benefits of mindfulness are plenty, ranging from improving our immune systems and sleep to helping us concentrate and cope with stress to strengthening our relationships and resilience (Source).

Mindfulness can be particularly helpful for caregivers in processing a wide range of emotions, as well as for enhancing our patience and compassion and ability to manage tasks and decisions (Source).

This month, we learned how to REGULATE EMOTIONS, BE PRESENT, and FIND HAPPINESS AND LAUGHTER. So how can we continue to practice mindfulness in our lives?

3 TOOLS FOR MINDFULNESS

Notice what exists vs. what we imagine. When we are stressed and overwhelmed, taking a moment to recognize what is our reality versus what we are worried might happen is vital to acknowledging our own emotions.
Sit with what actually is here. This could mean taking the time to notice our environment and surroundings or accepting what we can and cannot control in our situation.
Notice your thought patterns. What feels difficult about grounding yourself in reality? By recognizing how our mind is affecting our thoughts and emotions, we can feel more accepting and in control of our situation.

(Adapted from "Three Ways to Manage Dread" by Beth Kurland, Ph.D.)

Delight in heedfulness! Guard well your thoughts!

- The Budha (Dhammapada 327)

THEME AFFIRMATIONS
Use affirmations to inspire you or reframe your thoughts

My emotions are an intrinsic part of myself
I take time to listen to my body and environment
My happiness sparks laughter from deep within my core
I breathe in acceptance and breathe out rejection

APPS FOR GUIDED MEDITATION

Healthy Minds Program - This free app uses neuroscience to boost mental health and wellbeing.
Seven - This app motivates you to work out for seven minutes everyday.
Happify - This app helps with increasing optimism through games and programs designed to help with boosting life satisfaction.
Finch - This app promotes daily self-care through self-care exercises and goal-setting.

PODCASTS

Joy as an Act of Resistance - This podcast episode explores how joy can be transformative and empowering.
Happiness Break: A Guided Meditation on Embodied Love - This podcast episode introduces a short meditation to help experience love’s physical sensations.
Healing Trauma: Powerful Insights and Strategies That Work - Ever think that rest could be your Superpower? Discover powerful trauma recovery insights and unlock radical self-love in this game-changing conversation on healing and mindfulness. Want to live a better life? Take the FREE Good Life Bucket Quiz.
Courage to Caregivers Pick-Me Up Playlist on Spotify is sure help bring joy and happiness!

Hack Your Emotions - This podcast episode explains how we can manage and shift our emotions.
Why Dancing Is The Best Medicine - This podcast episode delves into how dance can help us feel better both emotionally and physically.

BOOKS

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook - This book teaches four basic skills of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) that can help people learn to manage their emotions.
Zen and the Art of Sarcasm - This coloring book by Lola Laughton supports well-being through sarcasm and creativity.
Out of Your Mind: The Biggest Mysteries of the Human Brain - This humorous book by cartoonist Jorge Cham and neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin explores the human brain in an entertaining, accessible way.
What the Buddha Taught - This introductory book on Buddhism by Theravadin Walpola Rahula explores Buddhist teachings by examining original Buddhist texts.

ARTICLES

How to Manage your Emotions - This short TED-Ed video explains how we can understand and manage our emotions.
How to be More Present - This article shares the importance of mindfulness and eight tips for how we can be more present in our lives.
Stress Relief from Laughter? It's No Joke - This article explains the short-term and long-term effects of laughter on reducing stress.
7 Benefits of Meditation & Mindfulness for Caregivers - This article delves into how meditation and mindfulness can be particularly helpful to caregivers.

In 1980, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) established March as Brain Injury Awareness Month (Source) and seven years later March also became recognized as National Developmental Disabilities Month (Source). This year, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) is acknowledging National Developmental Disabilities Month through the theme of "We’re Here All Year" to emphasize the importance of advocating for the needs of people with developmental disabilities throughout the year. This month, we are sharing some of our favorite resources below.

General Information and Resources

The NACDD offers advocacy resources for people with developmental disabilities and their loved ones.
The Arc of Monmouth provides of list of resources to support loved ones with developmental disabilities.
Ohio State University's “Can You Hear Us Now?” Project shares clear language research articles for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The BIAA's article "What is a Brain Injury" explains different types of brain injuries and their causes.
SAMHSA provides a broad list of educational and supportive resources on their website.
The Brain Injury Association of Ohio has a free, confidential helpline (833-783-1495) to support survivors, caregivers, families, and professionals. A specialist is available on the line M-F 8am-5pm.

Resources for Caregivers

THINK+change offers a video series interviewing caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities.
The BIAA's Caregiver Resource Center provides articles and stories for and by caregivers supporting brain injury survivors.
Brainline shares a list of videos and articles to support caregivers of people living with traumatic brain injuries.

Courage to Caregivers will now be offering monthly QPR Suicide Prevention Training on Thursday evenings at 7 pm ET on Zoom! Please register here to receive the Zoom link. You need only register for ONE two-hour session. Space is limited for each session, so please register only for a time you know you can attend so spaces don't fill up and prevent others from attending.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.

The March Book club will be held TOMORROW - Friday, March 28 at 11 am ET on Zoom. We will be discussing the TedTalk "Mindfulness, What is it really?" by Marie Ficociello.

"Mindfulness means being in the moment, whatever that moment is without judgment. It means body and mind are engaged in the same activity. It means you're not planning for the future or ruminating about the past. You are here now" Marie Ficociello - TEDxMCPHS Speaker shared in her TEDx talk "Mindfulness, what is it really?"

Join us on ZOOM!

April's theme is COMMON HUMANITY. How can we recognize what brings us together? In April, we will be building bridges, working through grief and loss, and breaking through loneliness to find our common humanity. With micro-goals, it’s easier to take the next right step - as Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.” Check out April's Micro-Challenges Calendar here.

Courage to Caregivers Breathing Practice for April: Sighing Breath

As we support caregivers to make breathing and meditation a practice, we're pleased to share our Breathing Meditation Facilitator Cathy and her monthly breathing practice how-to videos. You can join us for April's Breathing Practice - with this practice, we will improve lung function, relieve tension in the neck and shoulders, and calm the central nervous system.. You can watch April's instructional video for Sighing Breath here, and remember to subscribe to our 2025 Monthly Breathing Practices playlist to stay updated each month. You can also subscribe to our Breathing Meditation playlist, where we have four years of our weekly breathing meditation recordings, and follow along on our Spotify Breathing Meditation playlist.

The mission of Courage to Caregivers is to empower and equip carers to navigate their journey. We envision a world where healthy carers lead to healthier families and communities. We're in the caregiver burnout prevention business!