Meet Jeanette Yates

We were lucky to catch up with Jeanette Yates recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeanette, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My mother was the most resilient person I knew. She taught me to work hard, be kind, and advocate for people who could not advocate for themselves. She was sick most of her life, and I witnessed her excel in life and career despite those challenges.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’ve been caring for my mom since I was eight years old.

I know what it is like to be so caught up in what others need that you don’t meet your own needs and your life goes on without you.
We feel hopeless and desperate for a way out but also felt guilty for feeling that way.

You feel like you are falling apart but the idea of “self-care” 🙄 doesn’t work for most caregivers and it’s easy to feel frustrated.

This is why I decided to find my own way “out” and be present in my life beyond caregiving while still taking care of my mom.

I now help caregivers like you do the same.

My Amazon best-selling book, From Guilt to Good Enough, shares my journey of overcoming caregiver burnout and healing my trauma while still caring for my mother. I interview fellow caregivers on my podcast, From Guilt to Good, where we discuss things caregivers wish people would talk about but don’t, won’t, or can’t. I am also a caregiver consultant and advocate, speaking and writing on Substack about my caregiving and post-caregiving experiences.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

In any business, it is essential to be able to tell your story and share a compelling narrative that involves your customers or clients. I found that the more I focused on sharing my story, the more people were interested in working with me. For my business, another vital element is community. Creating a community where caregivers can freely express their emotions without fear of judgment allows me to encourage them and build trust, which is the best way to build a loyal client/customer base. And, most significantly, having an experimental mindset has helped me focus on specific strategies, evaluating how they work, and pivoting when and if it is necessary.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Before I started my business, I was chronically overwhelmed with caregiving responsibilities. To maintain my health and well-being, I had to create strategies that helped me reduce overwhelm and stress. This is why I started my business: to help other caregivers do the same. Here are a few things to think about when it comes to overwhelm. First, not everything that is labeled as self-care will work for you. Find something you enjoy and start with that. It’s also important to note that any self-care activity may work, but none of it will work if you aren’t taking care of the basics. Sleep, hydration, and nutrition are first and foremost your best bet for feeling better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theselfcaregiver.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theselfcaregiver/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theselfcaregiver
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnetteyates/
• Other: Substack: https://selfcaregiver.substack.com/Podcast: https://fromguilttogoodwithjeanetteyates.buzzsprout.com

Image Credits

photos @joshletchworth