Caregiver Burnout Part 2: Tips and Strategies for Taking Care of YOU
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Become an AdvocateAcknowledge your emotions.
You also may find yourself wanting to be strong for others all the time, but it is unrealistic to expect yourself to never have negative emotions. It’s important that you have an outlet to express how you feel so that you can maintain your health and energy. Suffering in silence and holding onto negative emotions buried inside of you often leads to higher levels of stress and may lead to anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. For caregivers, it may even negatively impact the relationship you have with your care recipient, which is good for them or you. Some feelings may be hard to verbalize, and sometimes we have thoughts we don’t want to say out loud. But when we deny, avoid, or hide our feelings, we often feel isolated, our emotions will build up or become worse, and we might experience feeling lonely or misunderstood. A great option for expressing emotions for caregivers is the Reeve Foundation's “Caring for a Family Member Living with Paralysis” virtual support group program. Virtual opportunities are provided for caregivers to connect with others who truly understand being in the role of a caregiver.
Maintain your identity outside of your caregiver role.
Remember that you always have the right to maintain parts of your own life that do not include your care recipient, just as you would if they were not in need of caregiving. Sometimes, being a caregiver can feel “all-consuming.” This is especially true for people who provide care assistance to family members. Over time, a caregiver may slowly lose their sense of individual identity as they start identifying more and more as just a caregiver. This can be damaging to one’s mental health because you are MORE than a caregiver. You also hold many other identities that deserve to be acknowledged. For example, aside from being a caregiver to someone, you may also be a wife, husband, sister, brother, friend, neighbor, artist, athlete, movie buff, swimmer, lover of outdoor barbecues, roller coaster enthusiast, an aspiring chef, schoolteacher – the list goes on! All of these parts of you that make up your wholehearted identity deserve to be acknowledged. If you feel like your role as a caregiver is becoming “all-consuming,” it will be important for you to take time to acknowledge and embrace the other parts of yourself that also lie within you.
Be proud of your strength as a caregiver.
It’s important to take pride in your efforts as a caregiver and to applaud yourself for the strength it takes to provide compassionate care assistance to others. Caregivers use extraordinary skills like attentiveness, patience, interpersonal understanding, and empathy. Caregivers also are excellent at taking direction, listening to the needs of the care recipient, and adapting on the fly. There are many other skills that you are likely using in your role as a caregiver – it’s important to remember the skills you use in this role and be proud of yourself. It’s equally important to be proud of yourself for managing your mental health and monitoring for caregiver burnout. Being a caregiver is not always easy, and it requires a careful balance of the needs of your care recipient along with your own needs. Give yourself credit for navigating this balance. The journey may not be perfect, but your ability to continue working on your wellness while simultaneously serving as a caregiver is remarkable. You’re likely doing a great job, and it’s completely valid to feel good about yourself.