I’m a blogger, entrepreneur, frustrated TikToker, skincare and makeup lover, and coffee fanatic.  I live in a multi-generational household with my grown daughter Carrie, son-in-law Paul and grandkids Lucas, Madelyn, and Aubrey. Never in a million years did I think I’d have not one but three grandchildren!

And just like you, I’ve been a caregiver.

My caregiving journey started in May of 2010 after my mother suffered a massive brain hemorrhage due to an overdose of blood thinners and a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia. The disease slowly and gradually stole pieces of my mother so much so that it was hard to see the start and endpoint of this ongoing robbery. At the same time, I began to recognize I was losing myself and the joy I used to feel evaporating until, at her death, there was hardly anything left of my old self.

Lewy Body Dementia stole my mother but being her caregiver also robbed me of the life I once knew.

Caregiving is a grueling task filled with sadness and joy, laughter and sorrow, love, and hate.  As much as I loved my mother, as a caregiver, I felt incredibly frustrated, angry, desperate, and lonely.

I felt frustrated that I was always putting my own needs last, angry at the horrible disease that stole my mother and my life away from me, desperate for help because I was doing it all on my own, and lonely because I missed my friends and the relationships that were important in my life.

I felt hopeless. It was like I was superglued to my caregiving and didn’t know a way to break free.

But what is true for almost anyone I’ve ever spoken to about caregiving is once it’s over, you feel lost and confused.  You think the hopelessness you felt in caregiving would somehow magically disappear with the passing of your loved one, but it doesn’t.

It lingers.

What I’ve come to realize is that the opposite of happiness isn’t unhappiness but hopelessness.

And that’s what I felt.  Hopeless.

Three years after my mother’s passing, I had an epiphany.  I was ready to take back my life, reclaim my joy, and recover my happiness.  It was time to start making changes – real changes.

Slowly I started to rebuild my life and to develop systems that allowed me to spend less time on all the stuff I had to do, so I could spend more time on the things I WANTED to do, like travel, get in better shape, and start this blog!

Gradually I began to recover my happiness and find my joy.

And, along the way, I’ve come to some important realizations.

First, I’ve realized that reclaiming what you lost is a process.

Getting a handle on all day-to-day activities that make up your life is essential to achieving your dreams.  Whatever your goals may be –   whether it’s starting a business, losing weight, getting in shape, learning to meditate, or even starting a blog, it’s hard to focus on getting back your life and achieving everything you want when your life is always in chaos.

Second, and even more importantly, adopting new habits and ways of doing things should not be complicated, nor do they have to be perfect to be effective.

Simpler is better, even if that means cutting a few corners here and there.  The goal is not to attain perfection (which by the way doesn’t exist), but rebuild your life well enough to free up time for all those other things you want to do – and haven’t been able to do for so long.

What’s this website all about

Recovering Happiness is a website dedicated to helping you recreate your most joyful life.  Our mission is to provide practical solutions to take you from exhausted, overwhelmed, and empty to energized, hopeful, and renewed.

We’ve got a ton of resources to help with this mission, and if this is your first time, we know it can be just a little overwhelming. It is our goal to make this site as user-friendly as possible so that you can easily find whatever it is you may be looking for. Here is a breakdown of what you’ll find on this site:

 

For most of us, life is busy, moving, and changing from day to day. From spending time with the people who matter most to following our varied interests and pursuits, it’s always essential to hone your skills from time to time. Here at Recovering Happiness, you’ll find articles and content that help you create better habits, be more productive and manage your home and life in a way that focuses on what YOU want to get out of YOUR life.  You can find all our LIFE posts HERE.

 

 

Let’s face it our personal wellness takes a back seat when we’re caregiving, but all that’s about to change!  Here you’ll find health and emotional wellness content along with beauty and style tips so you can look and feel healthy and beautiful inside and out.

You’ll can find all our WELLNESS posts HERE.

 

Many of the important relationships in our lives have suffered as a result of caregiving.  Here you’ll find content to help you mend the broken relationships in your life and find healthy ways to build stronger bonds with the people who matter most.

You can find all our RELATIONSHIP posts HERE.

 

Getting a handle on your finances is one of the most important things you will ever do in your life. You protect your future simply by cultivating this habit.  Our money tips will help you set a budget, pay off debt, plan for the future, and save more money in your everyday life, on everything from food to utilities cable, clothing, and more!

You can find all our FINANCE posts HERE.

 

 

Let’s Connect!

The best way to stay connected is through my email newsletter, which offers a free weekly dose of encouragement and inspiration, as well as links to all our latest blog posts. Many of my readers find the newsletter the best part of their week! When you sign up, we’ll also send you our Recovering Happiness Starter Guide as a free gift.

Of course, if you’d rather contact me directly, you can reach out to me on Instagram or send me an email at maureen@recoveringhappiness.com. I love connecting with my readers, and I particularly enjoy it when readers send me their comments, concerns, questions, or just to voice their opinion. Rest assured I read every single email that comes from you, and I do my best to respond to every single one. I am inspired and humbled that you share yourself with me so personally, and I don’t take that for granted – not for one single minute.