Hey everyone, welcome back to yet another Senior
Safety Advice podcast. I'm so happy that we're
able to record these on a daily basis. I think
it actually gives us a sense of amazing fulfillment
being able to share our experiences and our skills
with you. So I want to thank you so much for
being here with me. Alright, we all know that,
if you've been listening to me, that February
is Heart Health and Emotional Resilience Month.
So today I want to talk about how to create emotional
space for yourself. You know, most people don't
feel overwhelmed because they're weak. They feel
overwhelmed because they're full, full of responsibility,
full of worry, full of other people's needs.
And this is very true for caregivers of senior
adults. And when there's no space left inside
that everything feels louder and heavier and
much harder to deal with. So creating emotional
space isn't about escaping your life. It's about
giving your nervous system the room to breathe.
And that matters more than people actually realize.
I've worked with so many seniors and their families
who say, I don't have time for myself. You know,
the wife who's caring for her husband or the
adult daughter who's caring for her mother or
father or both parents and her children and the
husband. There's always something else to do,
they say, or I'll rest later, they say. But later
rarely comes. And without space, stress builds.
Patience shrinks and health tends to suffer.
So let's talk about what emotional space actually
is. It's not silence. It's not isolation and
it's not pretending that you don't care. Emotional
space is the pause between stimulus and response.
It's the moment where you don't immediately react,
where you don't immediately try to fix something,
where you don't immediately absorb everything.
That pause can be very powerful. And you don't
need hours to create it. You just need intention.
One of the simplest ways to create emotional
space is slowing transitions. Most stress comes
from rushing from one thing to the next. Phone
call to a chore, chore to appointment, appointment
to worry. There's no break in between. I've seen
people and myself feel calmer just by adding
a pause between activities. sitting for one minute
before standing, taking a breath or two before
answering, and letting one moment end before
the next begins. That space changes how the body
responds. Another way to create emotional space
is naming what you're feeling, if you can. Not
fixing it, not judging it, just naming it. And
that requires you to actually take a moment to
understand what it is that you're feeling. So
you may say, I feel tired, or I feel frustrated,
or I feel worried. When you name it, you separate
yourself from it. You're no longer drowning in
the feeling. You're observing it. And that observation
creates the space that you may need to move forward.
because space can reduce overwhelm. Another thing
I see that helps a lot is setting gentle boundaries.
Not harsh ones, you know, not confrontational
ones, talking about gentle ones. This could be
something like, well, telling yourself I can't
do that right now, or I need a little time before
you begin the next project, or Let me think about
it. That's my favorite phrase. Let me think about
it. Those phrases protect your energy. And protecting
energy is part of emotional health. I've seen
caregivers feel instant relief when they realize
that they're allowed to pause. And they're allowed
to say, yeah, not yet. Another way to create
space is also limiting your emotional input.
You know, like... watching the news 24 -7 or
even for an hour, constant updates on your Facebook
or TikTok or LinkedIn or Instagram, constant
opinions from others, which frankly mostly feel
like judgment. That floods the nervous system.
I mean, I have seen people feel calmer just by
turning off the news for the majority of the
day. Now, Or, at the very least, choosing one
source of news versus many. And if you can make
it a trusted source, that would be even better.
But these days it's hard to figure out which
is which. Reducing input creates space for your
own thoughts. And that space really matters.
Another powerful tool that I can tell you about
is physical space. Your body and your emotions
are connected. When your environment feels cluttered,
messy, you know, just unorganized, then your
mind often does too. It's true what they say
that the outer environment is often a reflection
of the inner environment or the other way around.
So clearing one surface, creating one calm corner,
that physical space gives your emotions room
to settle. I like to say, one drawer at a time.
Just take a moment, one drawer at a time. I've
seen people say, I didn't realize how tense I
felt until this space felt calmer. And that awareness
is really part of healing. Another thing I want
to talk about that I feel is important is permission.
So many people don't give themselves permission
to rest emotionally. They think they have to
stay alert, they have to stay ready, they have
to stay strong all the time. But strength also
includes softness, permission to pause, permission
to not solve everything today, at the moment.
That permission creates emotional breathing room.
And I have seen emotional space grow through
small rituals. I know that that happens in my
lifetime, in my life as well. A morning cup of
tea, a short walk, a few quiet minutes before
bed. Rituals create predictability. Predictability
creates safety and safety allows emotions to
settle. Another thing families don't always realize
is that emotional space protects your physical
health. When stress stays high, blood pressure
rises, sleep suffers, and pain increases. Creating
space helps the body to calm down. That calm
supports healing. I've seen people feel better
physically just by reducing emotional overload.
Not because life got easier, but because they
created room to cope. And here's something that's
very important. Emotional space does not mean
you stop caring. It means that you stop carrying
everything alone. You can care deeply and still
step back. That balance is healthy and it's learnable.
So if you're feeling stretched thin right now,
start small. One pause, one boundary, one breath
before responding, one drawer at a time. That's
enough. You don't need to necessarily overhaul
your life. Emotional space is built gently. And
once it's there, you'll notice more patience,
more clarity, more calm. That space becomes a
buffer between you and stress. And that buffer
protects your health. Well, that's all I have
for today. Thank you again for being here with
me. If today's episode gave you some useful insights
or new ideas, then share it with someone who
might find it helpful as well. You can discover
even more expert tips and helpful guides for
seniors and caregivers at seniorsafetyadvice
.com. And if you're searching for an aging in
place specialist or someone to help with senior
care, visit our website at aginginplacedirectory
.com. Come back tomorrow for more useful tips,
insights, and ideas right here on the Senior
Safety Advice Podcast. And hey, if you haven't
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So until next time, take care of yourself and
the ones that you love.