Self-care and mindfulness might seem impractical or indulgent when you’re trying to keep someone else alive. For caregivers of people with schizophrenia in particular, times of crisis or long-term stays in healthcare facilities can mean dedicating 110 percent of your time and attention to pressing needs.
Even when the person is not in crisis, routine care like pharmacy runs, clinic visits, and supporting their symptoms at home can mean less time for other priorities like work, school, kids, and loved ones — let alone time to care for yourself.
As strained caregivers, we tend to already know that self-care is important and that we need many things, mentally and physically: a break, sleep, exercise, someone to talk to, a meal other than doughnuts from the hospital vending machine. It’s the how that’s the tricky part.
We’ve gathered seven simple strategies that can meet you where you are, fit into your routine and, hopefully, help you nurture yourself while nurturing others.
Remember that caregiving doesn’t happen in isolation. As important as it is to practice self-care methods like those provided here, accessing caregiving support networks and resources can nurture your caregiving and your own health, too.
1. Weave ‘Micro-Exercise’ Into Your Day
Exercising for 30 minutes a day can increase your energy, self-esteem, and overall mental health. And it lowers your risk of conditions like heart disease, stroke, and cancer as well. Yet, for many caregivers, stepping away for 30-plus minutes to exercise isn’t just impractical, it’s logistically impossible.
If this sounds familiar, the key to nurturing your physical health may be to think of small ways to weave intentional movement into your day, with a focus on the connection between your mind and body. Here are some “micro-exercise” moments to consider.
- When you wake up: Instead of hitting the snooze button, spend the first 10 minutes of your day doing gentle stretches in bed. “This is a wonderful time to stretch, release tension, and ground yourself for the day,” says Marti Yura, a registered yoga teacher, integrated community healer, and a co-owner of Vista Yoga in Atlanta.
- After your morning coffee: Spend 5 minutes doing gentle, mindfulness-based movement like tai chi. Tai chi is often called “meditation in motion” because it combines deep breathing, focused attention, and flowing movements. It may help you set a whole new tone for your day.
- While sitting: Whether you’re at work, in a waiting room, or sitting in a parked car, it’s possible to get your heart pumping. These chair exercises from Cleveland Clinic can help you stay in motion.
- When caring for a pet: If you do something repeatedly each day, consider pairing the habit with another healthy habit — like doing one set of jumping jacks every time you take the dog for a walk.
- While waiting on hold: Stuck on the phone? Make the world fade away with a few minutes of standing yoga, like this yoga break from Caregiver Whole Health.
Finally, physical activity can be an opportunity for social connection, too. Walking and talking with friends or fellow caregivers can be a fun way to exercise, spend time in nature, and reconnect, all at the same time.
2. Practice Metta
Metta, or loving-kindness meditation, is a practice that can be done anywhere to increase feelings of compassion for yourself and others, says Yura. There’s no one set way to practice it, but the idea is to repeat a series of supportive phrases while you send loving thoughts inward and outward. You can come up with your own words or follow a script.
“My favorite is, ‘May I be mentally happy / May I be physically happy / May I be safe / May I have peace of well-being,’” says Yura. “You say it three times for yourself, three times for a loved one, three times for somebody you don’t know, and three times for somebody who has wronged you.”
It might be challenging at first to practice metta for someone for whom you have conflicted feelings — and you may never get there! That’s okay. But if you can one day work up to it, know that compassion is a healthier emotion to carry than resentment.
When possible, practice metta out loud in the form of speech or song, Yura says. “There is a physical resonance when you’re chanting or speaking,” she says. “Your ears pick up on the sound and the resonance creates a mind-body connection.”
3. Breathe Better Anywhere
Does the stress of caregiving ever become so overwhelming that it feels like you can’t breathe? Do you ever find yourself literally holding your breath, unable to fully get air in?
If this sounds familiar, the advice to “just breathe” might be unhelpful (or infuriating) for you. In these moments, structured breathing techniques can help your body breathe again. It’s best to practice these when you’re calm, so they’re readily available to you when you’re under stress.
“One of my favorite approaches is called Nadi breathing,” says Yura. Nadi breathing, commonly known as alternating nostril breathing, gives your body a physical, touch-based prompt to breathe. To perform Nadi breathing:
- Sit comfortably with a straight back, says Yura. Then hold your right hand up to your nose (if you’re right-handed), gently covering your right nostril with your thumb. Fill up your lungs by taking a steady breath in through your left nostril.
- Hold it for a couple of seconds.
- Switch: Release your thumb and cover your left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand. Breathe out through the right nostril.
- Breathe in again through the right nostril, covering your left nostril. Hold the breath for a few seconds, then cover your right nostril again and exhale through the left nostril.
- Repeat 5 to 10 times.
If this sounds confusing, this video on Nadi breathing from the MD Anderson Cancer Center can help.
“The technique is simple and powerful once you learn it,” says Yura. “It is even prescribed for anxiety in integrated and Eastern medicine practices.”
Other examples of structured breathing exercises include bumblebee breath, where you hum like a bee when you exhale, and 4-7-8 breathing, which involves counting the length of your breaths according to a set rhythm (inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8).
4. Carry Your Favorite Scent
Another trick to help you take full, deep breaths: Sniff the aroma of your favorite essential oil. Aromatherapy is used for a host of reasons, including stress and pain relief, better sleep, and increased focus.
To start, choose an essential oil with a scent you find soothing. Ideally, the label would list only one ingredient, like “100 percent organic peppermint oil.” Avoid artificial products or ones with many ingredients, as these can contain hidden chemicals that are unhealthy to breathe. You can find essential oils in many grocery stores and pharmacies.
Once you find a scent you love, keep the bottle in your pocket or carry it with you. Whenever you find yourself holding your breath, open it up and take long, steady breaths.
5. Create a Portable Massage Kit
“If you carry tension in your back or shoulders, as many caregivers do, a simple try-anywhere tip is to roll your back out against a wall using tennis balls,” says Yura. “This is a massage that you control, that costs nearly nothing, that you can do anytime.”
You can create your own back roller with two tennis balls and one large sock, says Yura. Place the balls in the sock, then tie a knot between the balls and at the opening of the sock. The two knots will hold the balls in place.
Position your roller between your back and a wall. It should start in the top, middle part of your back and should feel like one ball is on each side of your spine. Then simply move your body up and down against the wall so that the tennis balls slide up and down your back, massaging any tense or painful locations.
6. Pack a Coloring Book
Caregiving for a person with schizophrenia can involve long, stress-filled periods of waiting for potentially life-altering news in clinics, pharmacies, labs, and hospitals. Even if you have other important things to do while you wait, you might not feel up to working in that moment.
It’s okay to color instead.
Adult coloring can calm your nervous system, promote a meditative state, and ease anxiety symptoms. Coloring can also boost creativity and mental clarity, which can be especially helpful when considering health decisions. Not to mention, coloring books are light and portable — easy to keep in your bag for stress relief on the go.
7. Immerse Yourself in Green Space
Nearly all the self-care strategies we’ve shared here can be done in nature, just as they can indoors, says Yura. Whenever possible, try to take your self-care break in a safe outdoor space. Time in nature and or green spaces is linked to health benefits including lower blood pressure and reduced rumination or negative thoughts.
If you’re having trouble finding safe outdoor spaces, spending time in indoor gardens or even tending to indoor plants can reduce stress as well.
The Takeaway
- Consider self-care to be a necessary tool for safeguarding your emotional and physical well-being and being a better caregiver.
- If adding more commitments to an already full schedule is unrealistic, try to reclaim small chunks of time — like while you’re in a waiting room or traffic. Even 5 or 10 minutes can help.
- While there are many science-backed ways to lower stress, including exercise, meditation, and getting out into nature, find what makes you feel good.
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