MSI Press Blog

  Cancer, like other debilitating illnesses, require immense effort from those taking care of the cancer-stricken patient. This effort can be redoubled and accompanied by a range of personally invested emotions when the caregiver is a relative, particularly a spouse. Cleveland Clinic says"  Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that happens while you’re taking care of someone else. Stressed caregivers may experience fatigue, anxiety and depression.      To that, I would add anger -- followed by remorse. In waves and cycles. Never feeling good about yourself. And then feeling guilty from the sense of relief after the cancer-stricken relative dies. Being able to understand oneself and forgive oneself can lead to stabilization and at least some aspect of comfort (unfortunately, often months after the patient has died). This article can help wtih the understanding and forgiving part:  Caregiver Burnout: What It Is, Signs You’re Experiencing It, an

  The easiest and most complete way to share Julia's news is to reproduce the email I received from her, as is. If you follow the text (worth reading) down, you will see the link to the podcast at the end. Read this email online.  How are you supposed to help other people when you're struggling yourself?  I hear this question all the time in my work with helping professionals and moms. You're not immune to personal and collective stress, yet somehow you need to keep showing up with a clear mind and full heart for the people you serve. You may have days when you feel overwhelmed by the world, unsure about everything, and barely making it through, but you can't just phone it in. So when you have a big life stressor or three to deal with, what's a caring person to do?  Well, let's first look at the assumptions we're starting with in asking this question.  Many individuals in helping roles learned early on that their value depended on what they could do for othe

From the blog of MSI Press author, Julia Aziz: You might find this strange and a little gross, but the other day I spent some time watching a beetle roll a little balll of dung across the road. I became fascinated by his perseverance and how he naturally made use of what for most living beings on earth is just poop. I don’t know much about dung beetles, but it strikes me on a metaphoric level how we need this kind of resourcefulness in our current world. What creativity could transform what we must leave behind into something sustainable and life-giving? The most common refrain I’m hearing from folks these days is “I just wish I knew when this pandemic would end.” There is a lot of sadness with this question, as no one can offer anything but predictions or false promises. Maybe there is a higher authority on the subject though. Nature tells us: Everything changes. Change happens on its own time. To read the rest of this blog post, click HERE , For more posts by and about Julia and her