I have always believed that things that make caregivers so strong are also their greatest weaknesses, and those are kindness, compassion, and love. While caregiving is necessary, not everyone is cut out to be a caregiver. It is difficult to go day by day, providing care that is selfless and thoughtful. Many caregivers take better care of others than they do themselves. Providing this level of care can take its toll on the caregiver and lead to physical pain, stress, and for some, burnout. Let’s examine caregiver burnout and how to avoid it.
What is Caregiver Burnout?
When people say that they are burned out, what they are expressing is it feels like they’ve got nothing left in the tank. They’ve run out of fuel. Small tasks become major mountains to climb. Energy is low and motivation to care barely exists. The feelings of burnout are exhaustion, numbing, and draining. You may want to give more, but feel like you just have nothing left to give. This is burnout and it’s not a healthy place to linger in for long. It can lead to depression, anxiety and physical problems. People can become burned out physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually.
(NOTE: Interested in learning more about Employee Wellness? Checkout my Employee Wellness CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)
How Do You Express Burnout?
We all express stress and burnout in different ways. Some people feel it in their gut, literally. They may experience gastrointestinal distress. Others may experience headaches, eye strain, or back pain. Some people lose sleep and some people cannot get to sleep. We may eat or drink more to deal with our stress and burnout. Below is a short list of how we might express caregiver burnout. If you agree that a few of these apply to you, you may be expressing a great deal of stress or even worse, burnout.
Fatigue. Everyone experiences feelings of fatigue at certain times of the day. My weak spot for fatigue is roughly between 3pm to 5pm. This may be normal for a lot of people, but if fatigue is constant and you feel exhausted all of the time, you may be burned out.
Irritability. Some of us get short with others during normal interaction, depending on the topic and our mood. But, if you find yourself snapping at people for small things that don’t really matter all that much, or you lose patience too quickly, you may be burned out.
Apathy. This means that you may feel an emotional numbing to the care of people that you used to find satisfaction in providing. What once made you happy now feels like nothing. If you have to force yourself to care, you may be burned out. If you don’t care about caring anymore… get help.
Emotional. This refers to either social or emotional withdrawal and occurs when caregivers back away from the people in their lives, like friends and family. They stay away from the people that mean the most to them. This also includes withdrawal from hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed.
Sleep or Eating Changes. Stress, burnout, anxiety and depression can do many things to us. We may oversleep or have a difficult time getting to sleep. We may eat our way through stress or lose our appetite. Everyone’s response to burnout is different. Are you aware of yours?
Substance Use or Abuse. This is a dangerous coping mechanism that many people will turn to in an attempt to self-medicate the feelings of stress or burnout. It may actually work in the beginning, but after a while, burnout can lead to drug or alcohol abuse. This can create a very serious problem for the caregiver.
Prevention is the Best Medicine
We all experience various levels of stress at home and work. Stress is a normal, natural response to our situation and environment. It gets us up and out of bed to face each and every day. Without it, we wouldn’t survive. But, before stress becomes too overwhelming and burnout is on the horizon, prevention is best. Let’s look at some things we can do to minimize stress and prevent burnout.
Take care of the caregiver first, or you’ll have no care to offer. This isn’t selfish. It’s necessary. Be realistic with your limits. Accept when you need help from others and don’t try to do it all alone. Talk with your friends and family about your feelings. Don’t keep them to yourself. It really does help share your thoughts and feelings with others. The very act of talking about things is quite therapeutic.
You can also take a personal inventory of your coping mechanisms to evaluate if they are healthy and effective. Educate yourself on caregiver stress and burnout. The more you know, the better you can handle your situation. And while you’re training your brain, some exercise and staying healthy are good ideas, too. Eat right and get some sleep. It also helps to accept your feelings of stress and burnout and not to ignore them. After all they won’t go away on their own. You have to do something about it.
Final Thoughts on Preventing Caregiver Burnout
Caregiver burnout is real and affects millions of caregivers in the United States. And while what makes you strong also makes you weak–namely compassion–you can find balance and harmony in your life to continue caring and living healthy and strong. Remember, caregiver care for thyself!
(NOTE: Interested in learning more about Employee Wellness? Checkout my Employee Wellness CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)