How the f*ck am I supposed to fit in self care? This is a question we ask ourselves all. of. the. Time. (especially while living this ‘sandwiched’ lifestyle). With the algorithms feeding us endless articles about all the ways we ‘should’ be doing self care, frankly, it all feels like a scam.

In this episode, we (Eliesa Johnson and Robyn Frank) open up about the frustrations around taking care of ourselves while being caregivers for both our children and parents. We give some realistic examples of how we fit in tiny moments of joy that help us cope with the stress, along with a deeper conversation on how watching our parents age has had an effect on our own health journeys. And did we mention we talk about making CPAPs sexy?! That’s right - welcome to The Sandwich Generation Pod!

Takeaways

• Self care feels like a scam because there is NO time people!
• Being ‘sandwiched’ and watching our parents age has only made us reflect on our own health journey - because we want to stay as healthy as possible for our children as they grow!
• Taking vitamins might be all the self care there is for the day!
• Shoutout to CPAP machines and amazing sleep! CPAPs are COOL, y’all!
• Finding radical acceptance is important for our mental well being when we’re in the midst of caregiving.
• Everything you do each day is enough.
• Journaling, therapy, indulging in a great coffee / cocktail, nutrient dense food are all things we’ve found as small joys along the way.
• Creating boundaries around your time from caregiving is self care.
• It’s okay to just survive some days; recognizing that is part of self care.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:47 The Reality of Self-Care in Busy Lives

01:57 Our Personal Self-Care Practices and Challenges

07:09 Making CPAP Machines Sexy and how Sleep is EVERYTHING

15:06 How bedtime with our kids became the best time

19:53 Our own Health Awakening from watching our parents age

27:11 Prioritizing our health for our own aging

29:38 Setting Boundaries: Caring for Family

33:54 Practical Hacks: Self-Care in Everyday Life

37:52 Radical Acceptance: What we are doing is enough

40:35 Outro