Let Go

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can't control another.

To "let go" is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To "let go" is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my 

hands.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another, it's to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle arranging the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To "let go" is not to be protective, it's to permit another to face reality.

To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own

 shortcomings, and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires but to take each day as it comes, and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to criticize and regulate anybody but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future. To "let go" is to fear less, and to love more.

[Author Unknown]

12 Steps for Caregivers

1. We admitted that we were powerless over the person we are caring for--that our lives had become unmanageable.  
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the Care of God as we understood our Higher Power.  
4. Made a fearless and thorough moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked our Higher Power to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.  
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood our Higher Power, praying only for knowledge of HP's will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to caregivers, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Start A Meeting In Your Area!

Are you a Caregiver looking for support?  Start a Caregivers Anonymous Meeting in your area!

In the mean time, check out Al-Anon Parent Support Meetings if you are struggling with your teenage/adult son or daughter.  Al-Anon meetings are usually for lives touched by alcoholism, however, the problem solving and coping skills taught through the practice of the 12 Steps applies perfectly to ALL personal relationships.  
If you are providing care for your chronically ill spouse or parent, regular Al-Anon Meetings will be a gold mine of valuable learning and support.

As Caregivers, Our First Responsibility is Self Care.

It doesn't matter who we are caring for, our first responsibility is Self Care!