{"id":87224,"date":"2024-07-09T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/club31women.com\/?p=87224"},"modified":"2024-07-10T07:27:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T14:27:34","slug":"coping-skills-hard-days-as-a-parent-of-a-disabled-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/club31women.com\/coping-skills-hard-days-as-a-parent-of-a-disabled-child\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Coping Skills You\u2019ll Need for the Hard Days as a Parent of a Disabled Child"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Managing stress during the hard days takes a bit of intention and skill. If you’re the parent of a disabled child, this may encourage you.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It\u2019s an established fact backed by mounds of research: couples parenting children with chronic illnesses or disabilities experience significantly<\/em> higher levels of everyday stress than couples parenting children without special needs. What\u2019s more, one of the greatest predictors of marital satisfaction for caregiving parents is our stress levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two generally accepted approaches to managing stress: either eliminate or reduce the cause of the stress or learn more effective ways of coping with the stress. You likely cannot change your situation or many of your stressors right now, but by learning and applying new emotion and stress regulation skills, you can help your marriage thrive as well as better balance your emotions and lower your body\u2019s stress responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research shows there are specific coping strategies that make caregiving marriages more resilient. These are also the skills we\u2019ve discovered and developed to help strengthen our own marriage!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Find Strength in Faith<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose who hope in the Lord will renew their strength\u201d (Isa. 40:31). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaning on God\u2019s power and endless love saved our marriage. We discovered how depending on faith amid incredible stress and grief can bring renewed hope and joy. Our experience of finding new strength in our marriage through our shared faith is not unique. Studies have shown that sharing a healthy relationship with God and strong faith practices such as praying, reading Scripture, and attending church can help you cope more effectively.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Live Mindfully<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life\u201d (Job 33:4). Regardless of your current life circumstances, look around at where you are and take one moment at a time. Worrying about the future fuels anxiety and raises stress levels. Similarly, when you keep turning around to relive the past, guilt and depression can follow you.<\/strong> Yes, the two of you have to plan ahead and honor the past. But once you\u2019ve taken time to reflect and your plans are in place, notice your current surroundings and feel yourselves in your present day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can practice being mindful by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consciously observing what\u2019s going on inside you and around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remaining nonjudgmental about what\u2019s happening, what\u2019s being said, and what you\u2019re thinking and feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Destress Together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength\u201d(Ps. 23:2\u20133 NLT). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding ways to destress and relax together is essential. When you relax together, you are coping together, which will strengthen your relationship.<\/strong> Here are some other ideas for how to soothe one another\u2019s muscles, minds, and emotions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go for a walk or jog together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lie on a heating pad or under a heated blanket together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drink hot tea while snuggling in a blanket together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Support One Another\u2019s Self-Care<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTherefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing\u201d (1\u00a0Thess. 5:11). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By supporting one another in caring for your individual mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and physical health, you will both be better able to manage stress and have improved mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few ways you can support each other\u2019s self-care:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encourage your spouse to go for a walk or jog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make them a fruit smoothie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrange a day or a couple of hours to give them a break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Laugh Together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time\u201d (Prov. 17:22 GNT). A few years ago, we went into our daughter\u2019s room to wake her up from her nap. Boy, did we find a surprise! As we opened the door, a pungent wave overwhelmed our noses. Horror music played in our heads as we stared at the plastic panels enclosing her medical bed. She had fingerpainted every vinyl window, and not with watercolors. She had also given herself a special makeover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We turned to look at one another, a mutual understanding of emotional pain in our eyes. We both wanted to sink down to the floor and cry. But instead, we did something different. We began to laugh so hard our stomachs hurt and tears rolled down our cheeks. Why did we laugh? We honestly can\u2019t remember who said what first, but it was something like, \u201cWow, she\u2019s quite the artist! Looks like she had fun.\u201d Or, \u201cHer bed needed a good disinfecting anyway. You wanna bet how many wipes it\u2019s going to take?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By allowing ourselves to even just briefly and silently acknowledge our painful thoughts and emotions, we were able to feel positive emotions.<\/a> The experience drew us closer rather than driving us apart.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflection:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n