Jessica expands on the Invisible Caregivers - Cultural Diversity episode to spot light how language barriers includes the medical jargon which is connected to billable codes in the US. Expressing our feelings or symptoms we may be experiencing is hard enough. Adding in the language barriers with medical doctors makes it feel impossible to communicate our needs as caregivers.

If you are struggling to find healthcare assistance beyond the typical prescription pad response, a Naturopathic doctor may be your answer.

Let's make a conscious effort to change the caregiver culture together. Jessica dives a little deeper on why seeking a second, third, and finally a fourth opinion was necessary in the fight to heal her kidneys before needing dialysis.

It's is already so challenging for caregivers to find resources in their areas. So what happens to the countless caregivers that become invisible because there is a language barrier such as the large Spanish speaking community?

Listen in as founder of Caregiving Café, Lynn Greenblatt, joins Jessica to discuss the need for a spotlight on the invisible caregivers in a multicultural society.

Learn more at https://proactivecaregivere.com

Whether you are a caregiver with tons of family support or you're like many others, learning to navigate the twists and turns, you will eventually ask, "Now what?" Finding Care Navigators like Dura Sims is such a blessing, but what if you don't know that her services are available? What do you once you reach the limit of your abilities or knowledge.

Listen in as Jessica goes into more context of caregiver needs, and especially those who feel like they have reached a dead end. When a family caregiver realizes they are in over their head it is usually because they are at their breaking point.

Navigating each stage of the caregiving journey is challenging. Once you think you have a handle on the highs and lows or odd challenges, your loved one's needs shift yet again. So what do you do aside from panic or having a tantrum on the inside yet showing a face of calm on the outside?

Listen in as Dura Sims shares how her world seemed to turn upside down as a professional hospice care coordinator. Dura's background spans in over 30 years of healthcare services, yet became a caregiver for her mother and found herself frustrated with the lack of knowledge and resources available to caregivers. She channeled this frustration into creating a consulting service for senior care solutions in many stages of life. What we need in the early stages of our journey is quite different as we near the end stages.

Listen in as Jessica expands on the Becoming Proactive episode to spot light how self-care is overlooked. We learn by watching our parents and then as we go out into the real world our habits change. Sometimes those changes are improvements while other times convenience and avoidance puts a damper on our self-care regimens.

What do you say to convince yourself that certain habits are not important or can wait for the perpetual tomorrow? Are you waiting for the moment of crisis? Burnout? Or for a doctor to prescribe antidepressants because reacting to life is getting harder. When I stop to reflect on our system of healthcare and insurance and how it is not designed for prevention, I realize the responsibility is ours to ensure self-care habits are created and maintained.

Let's make a conscious effort to change together. We need to pour into ourselves for replenishment, recharging, and reprograming our minds, hearts, and soul. Jessica dives a little deeper on why self-care is not selfish as she shares her moments of how our heart space can make a world of difference on your caregiving journey.

What does self-care mean to you? What does it look or feel like to be restored? Listen in as the Jessica chats with Health and Life Coach, Kaley Johnson, who is also the co-facilitator of our monthly Refuel Caregiver Support Group. Kaley has a degree in human services and has been a professional caregiver for over 25 years and was a foster parent in addition to caring for her two sons and 92-year-old grandmother. Kaley created Spark Your Journey Coaching, to support caregivers by helping to fill in the gap in services. She understands from first hand experience that caregivers, like you and me, often lose their own identity while caring for their loved ones.

In this episode, Jessica reflects on a transformative conversation she had with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers, the author of Shameless Parenting and a leading expert in sex therapy, feminism, and social justice. Through a poignant personal anecdote, Jessica explores the challenges of navigating societal shame and sexual expression in the context of dementia. Dr. Tina's insights resonate as Jessica grapples with the profound impact of cultural taboos on personal autonomy and well-being, highlighting the importance of embracing shameless human responses amidst adversity. Join Jessica as she revisits this conversation, inviting listeners to reconsider societal norms and advocate for authentic self-expression.

Listen in as Jessica chats with the author of Shameless Parenting, Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers, who is a licensed sex and gender feminist psychotherapist, researcher, and professor. Dr. Tina's expertise covers sex therapy, spiritual intimacy, parenting, medicine, and social justice. When Mom refused to even consider using a vibrator because she was worried what her priest would think of her, I had THE sex-talk with Mom I wished she would have given me as a teenager. Living with Dementia was challenging enough, but Mom lost more then memory when pleasure and sexual expression became a dilemma to choose more behavior altering medication or her to have a shameless human response.