EvenMORE For You

Happy Self-Care Month

YOU are the Priority!

Created by the World Health Organization (WHO,) Self-Care Month began on June 24 and continues until July 24, which is International Self-Care Day. The dates symbolize that self-care should be practiced by healthcare providers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Introduced in 2019 when the WHO released its global Guideline on self-care interventions for health and well-being, Self-Care Month is part of WHO’s drive to “to integrate self-care practices into global healthcare systems.”

Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others

Whether you’re on the clinical or administrative side of end-of-life care, at Crossroads you’re working in an organization wholly dedicated to providing comfort and support to patients and families during a very fragile time. You show compassion, resilience and energy every day. It’s important to prioritize your own well-being through regular self-care so you can continue to perform and thrive on the job.

Try these Free Self-Care Ideas!

One simple way to recharge is to embrace nature. Taking a few moments to step outside and enjoy the sunshine, feel a gentle breeze or spend time surrounded by greenery or water (called green/blue spaces) can help reduce stress and improve your mood. And even a very brief break outdoors can provide a sense of calm during a busy day. 

Movement is another powerful form of self-care. It can help release physical tension and improve energy levels. Choosing activities that make your body feel good can support both your physical health and emotional well-being. 

Proper nutrition also plays a role in managing stress. Fueling your body with colorful fruits and vegetables provides essential nutrients that help you stay energized, focused and prepared to meet the demands of a high-stress profession. 

Finally, make time to express yourself creatively. Writing in a journal, creating art, playing music or engaging in another creative outlet can help process emotions, reduce stress and quiet your busy mind. Creative expression provides a healthy way to reflect and recharge. 

While you dedicate yourself to caring for others every day at Crossroads, make your own self-care a priority this month and every month.

The Last Paragraph

By Danny Gutknecht
Years ago I found myself in the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, very early in the morning. If you've never been, it's a strange and beautiful building—a space-age design that seems inspired by a cathedral and a mid-century modern concert venue. And if you get there in the morning, the sun gets right to the point. It comes straight through the great ceiling-to-floor windows, reminding you that you don't really need coffee—just sunlight, to sit down on your lap and smile.

It was there that I pretty much swore off reading business books. They felt too formulaic; most got their idea across by chapter two, and the rest was redundant. There are outliers, of course. But I knew then that I would rather write books with fewer pages than waste anyone's time. I remember flipping to the back of one and reading the last page. The last paragraph.

We are all writers. Every life is a book.

You know, there is an incredible agony when you aren't able to write a final paragraph in a relationship—particularly with a loved one. If you find yourself fretting over the final paragraph, you might want to take a look at the chapters of the book, because that's what really makes a book. Not the ending.

If you're a hospice caregiver, I'm sure there are things you wish every family with a declining loved one knew. Some books end mid-sentence. Some endings are sudden, or muddled, or arrive before anyone is ready. But nobody closes a book they loved and remembers the last paragraph. They remember the chapters—the ones where everything happened. And those were written long ago, together. The book was already good before the ending was ever in question. And yet, there's always a reason to make that last paragraph count.

Airports are transitional spaces. No one goes to the airport as a destination; they are meant to take us from one place to another—usually much different places. Hospice is that kind of space too. Not a destination. A threshold between one place and another, where the light comes all the way down from the ceiling.

Reflecting on that morning at Charles de Gaulle, a phrase keeps coming to mind that I'm still not sure I have the full meaning of: the unretrievable transgressions are those against the march of time. It's actually a phrase that arrived in a dream. It has persisted as a meditation on time—what time is, what we do with it, the fact that it's here but it really isn't. It's not like we can store time away in files on our computer, or carry it with us in the trunk of a car. Any attempt to do so is itself a transgression. Maybe, in the end, the only real transgression against time is when it's poorly spent. But, in an odd way, the moments we can never take back are not failures. They are the evidence that gives life depth—evidence that we actually lived.

It occurred to me, sitting with Hugh Downs when he was 98, that reminiscence is a way of writing—a way of saying those other chapters had meaning. So if you are sitting with someone in their final chapter, don't fret over the last paragraph. Help them revisit the chapters instead–out loud, while there's light in the room.

Where the sunlight gets right to the point.

Smoothie Time!

A Healthy & Refreshing After Work Snack

We all know that the food we eat impacts how our bodies and brains perform. This summer de-stress after work with an easy smoothie snack. It’s the perfect pick-me-up to re-fuel your body for your second job, the one you have at home after work. Try this healthy Berry Green Smoothie recipe for a quick and simple way to recharge.

Berry Green Smoothie

Calories: 300

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries

• 1 handful of spinach (frozen or fresh)

• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

• ½ cup Greek yogurt

• 1 cup of liquid (water, milk or milk alternative)

• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

• A few ice cubes

Steps:

1.  Measure all ingredients
2.  Pour in blender
3.  Blend all ingredients together until smooth

Did you know?

Did you know Greek yogurt is higher in protein than other yogurts? Yogurt is a classic smoothie ingredient, but it can be loaded with unnecessary sugar and flavor. Check the label! Greek yogurt makes smoothies richer in probiotics (healthy bacteria that support gut health) and protein. There is also Vegan yogurt options made from almonds, cashews, coconut, soy and other nondairy sources.