Name the Feeling

Caregivers often suppress emotions. One day leads to another in a confusing state of numb disorientation. Preoccupied with the continuous caring for someone else, we detach our minds from what we feel in our hearts.

Though strong feelings are a natural part of the caregiving experience, our situations produce feelings that are hard to understand. Why am I depressed? Is it normal to be angry? Why do I feel sad? What is this fear I’m feeling?

Naming those emotions is the first step to understanding what we’re going through. Putting those feelings—depression, sadness, anger, and fear—into words can make them less intense. Once we understand what we are experiencing, we can find healthy ways to express these emotions.

God understands our feelings. He created our emotions as well as our intellect—and He promises that with understanding we will prosper.

Prosper means to grow and to thrive. What will God prosper? Hope, patience, peace, and even joy in our lives, to help restore our emotional balance. God will make us thrive, not just survive, as caregivers, when we recognize our feelings as a normal part of the caregiving experience.