self care – Agenda Texas

Coping with the Holidays – Tip #1 Self-care

Dec 14, 2016Susan K. StewartFamilyChristmas, coping, holidays, mental illness, self care

Holidays are stressful enough. When a loved one suffers with a mental illness, it can be overwhelming for both of you. We all have visions of perfect meals with the smiling family all around. We also try to hard to make it easy for our loved one, who may only want everything to follow the

#MomFail Culture. Not!

Apr 18, 2016Susan K. Stewart4 CommentsUncategorized#momfail, encouragement, self care

You’re late getting to church — again. After service, a kind and wise elder lady gives you advice how to get your family in order, while your children run through the hallway. You hear, “Honey, it’s o.k. Some moms just fail.” Immediately the afterglow is gone. Even when you stay home all day, it’s not

It’s About You

Jan 25, 2010Susan K. StewartUncategorizedfamily, mental illness, self care, support

One of the hardest steps for a family is accepting that a loved one has a mental illness. The next hardest is accepting that you are also a “victim” of the illness. I don’t like using the word “victim;” it is such an overused word. Mental illness, like so many other biological illnesses, affects family

Coping: Self-Care

Aug 6, 2009Susan K. Stewart3 CommentsUncategorizedcoping, family, Future, loved one, mental illness, Parents, self care

One of my first questions when our son was returning home after a suicide attempt was, “How do we ‘watch’’ him?” I didn’t get the answer I wanted: “You don’t.”

I was prepared to have a 24-hour watch, and do it all myself if I had to. That was neither possible nor practical. In the emotion of the moment, I wasn’t thinking; I was reacting. I didn’t, couldn’t, think about myself.