Catherine Diggory c.j.diggory1@keele.ac.uk
‘Permission to be kind to myself’. The experiences of informal carers of those with a life-limiting or terminal illness of a brief self-compassion-based self-care intervention
Diggory, Kate; Reeves, Andrew
Authors
Andrew Reeves
Abstract
Background
Informal carers of someone with a life-limiting or terminal illness often experience marked levels of depression, anxiety and stress. Carers have limited free time to devote to lengthy, well-being interventions. Carers also struggle to prioitorize their self-care, a factor which may help buffer some of the negative impacts of being a carer. The aim of this study was to gain insight into carers’ views and perceptions of a brief, four session face to face self-compassion intervention for carers (iCare) which was created to improve well-being, increase self-compassion and develop self-care among carers. In so doing, this qualitative research addresses gaps in the literature relating to self-compassion interventions for carers and targeted self-care initiatives for carers.
Method
Semi-structured interviews with nine participants of iCare were conducted and data subjected to a reflexive thematic analysis within a critical realist framework.
Findings
A number of themes and sub-themes were identified. Carers discovered a kinder, less judgemental way of seeing themselves allowing themselves to recognize that they had their own individual needs. In turn this led to an intentional practise of self-care activities. Benefits from conscious self-care and self-kindness included experiencing a greater sense of calm or relaxation and the development of a more positive outlook.
Conclusion
The findings highlight that a brief self-compassion intervention can have a positive impact on carers reported well-being through developing a kindlier internal orientation and locating a permission to allow themselves to practise an intentional self-care.
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Sep 19, 2021 |
Publication Date | Sep 19, 2021 |
Journal | Progress in Palliative Care |
Print ISSN | 0969-9260 |
Publisher | Maney Publishing |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 30 |
Issue | 3 |
Pages | 1 - 9 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1080/09699260.2021.1972722 |
Keywords | Carers, Palliative care, Self-compassion, Self-care, Reflexive thematic analysis, Life-limiting diagnosis, Terminal diagnosis |
Publisher URL | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09699260.2021.1972722 |
Files
09699260.2021.pdf
(922 Kb)
PDF
Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
You might also like
Downloadable Citations
About Keele Repository
Administrator e-mail: research.openaccess@keele.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search