YOU’RE INVITED to the next KIRC Sunday Coffee Chat & Support: How do you cope when the person you care for is mean to you?

How do you cope with and protect your emotions when someone is mean to you?

What might that look and feel like when the person being mean is the same individual you are caring for?

I had a conversation with a dear friend recently and this subject came up. It got me thinking about times along my caregiving journey, when my mother may not have always been kind.

There was one instance, in which she told me – and I quote – “I could care less if his plane goes down!” She was speaking about the person I was dating at the time who was about to take a trip, heading into what was forecast to become a hurricane. That is a mean thing to say.

Then I remembered a conversation I had years ago with a woman who was the sole caregiver to her elderly (and cranky) mother. This woman was the mother of a very close friend. She had no additional help in caring for her mother, who was only referred to as ‘Grandma.’ I never learned this older woman’s name.

But this caregiver, who was in her 60’s at the time, told me her mother had been mean and disrespectful to her most of her life. She said there was one instance, in which her mother had tired toppling her down some stairs.

Now, that is extreme, but the fact remains, sometimes we are charged with caring for someone who is not a nice person.

Mean girls and boys

Dealing with mean girls and mean boys can be funny when it is a movie script. Tina Fey and Lindsay Lohan left a memorable mark on our society thanks to their comedy depiction of being mean.

Taylor Swift managed to create a catchy hit song, courtesy being mean.

But let’s talk real life. How do we manage to process sometimes painful moments?

You’re invited to join Keeping It REAL Caregiving for the next Sunday Coffee Chat & Support. We’re not talking about the reasons why someone might be mean (medical, health decline, dementia…)

No – we’re just sharing some experiences, how we have managed and lending support to help others who might find themselves in similar situations.

Sunday, August 7, 2022

9:30 AM – 10:00 AM ( Pacific)

Online Event

Keeping It REAL Caregiving Coffee Chat & Support Session: I’m caring for my loved one so why are they mean to me?

Event description: Join KIRC for a virtual support session to chat about a topic that many of us as caregivers have faced at one time or another. How do you handle your emotions when the person you are tasked with caring for crushes your spirit and is sometimes downright mean to you? Grab you favorite cup of java or rejuvenating tea and join us as we dish and share ways for rising above.