Keep your own needs on your radar, too: Sun Messages
By Maria Shine Stewart, special to Sun News
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- You know the warning: “Don’t burn the candle from both ends.” Or a more contemporary version: “Put on your oxygen mask first.”
Some people might consider these simply cliches, but for well-being, the adages remain potent reminders to care for one’s self. Even the busiest, most resilient person has a bending or breaking point.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
On the Psychology Today website, burnout is defined as “a state of emotional, mental and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.”
The risk of burnout is not just as a professional -- being a parent, a caregiver, a family member are also energy-intensive roles. There is not always a sense of accomplishment or of control. Over time, fatigue, cynicism, even exhaustion can set in.
“Burnout is not simply a result of working long hours or juggling too many tasks, though those both play a role ...” according to Psychology Today.
“Equally pressing is working toward a goal that doesn’t resonate, or when a person lacks support.” (Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/burnout)
Sometimes complications arise if someone feels overloaded but cannot reapportion the load. Heed stressor signals! Overeating, substance use or abuse, alcohol misuse or other self-defeating habits may tempt a weary person, but can lead to dire consequences.
Know the risks, plan, act -- and take stock of your mood and vitality often. Be kind to yourself. There is hope: Obtaining a sense of meaning and purpose is therefore a potent antidote -- as are reclaiming a degree of autonomy, control, even creativity within the tasks required.
C to C: November is National Family Caregivers Month. Courage to Caregivers is a nonprofit located in Northeast Ohio that serves caregivers nationwide. Its mission is to provide hope, support and courage to caregivers, family members and loved ones of those living with mental illness.
Courage to Caregivers will present a free interactive program, “Preventing Caregiver Burnout by Illuminating Hope,” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 18. This virtual event will include a guided breathing meditation as an embodied experience focused on hope, and a presentation covering the evidence-based research and science that leads to instilling hope and building resilience.
Registration is available on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preventing-caregiver-burnout-by-illuminating-hope-tickets-176629291967.
The presentation is open to family and professional caregivers who care for someone living with mental illness.
The Courage to Caregivers press release offered some important facts and figures:
53 million people, equivalent to 19 percent or one in five Americans, provide unpaid care to an adult or child. This has risen 3 percent in the past five years. (National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2020). Caregiving in the U.S.)
14.3 million Americans are caring for someone living with emotional and mental health issues, up 6 percent since 2015. (National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2020). Caregiving in the U.S.)
If any reader is currently experiencing a crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.
Learn more at www.couragetocaregivers.com.