How to avoid Caregiver Burnout in the New Year!

We all face the New Year with hopes for a fresh start. We can release the old and bring in the new. Everyone feels a renewed energy and a desire to have a happier, more fulfilled life. We reflect on the past year and make resolutions to change those things in our lives that hold us back or keep us from having our best life. Even caregivers who have limited resources of time and energy usually look forward to the New Year and honestly hope to be able to change at least little things for the better.

A great place to start would be addressing Caregiver Burnout and how to avoid it. Everything else can fall into place when we protect ourselves from the type of burnout that comes from lack of self-care.

I know about this personally. I’ve been there, done that, ate the popcorn and have the t-shirt. In my desire to provide the ultimate care for my parents I neglected myself. So let’s begin the New Year with a plan of action to take care of ourselves and avoid burnout. Here are some easy to manage tools that don’t require drastic change, just practice.

Be self-aware
Pay attention to what’s going on with you. Self-awareness is the key to avoiding emotional and physical overload. Plowing through our days with our heads down can cause serious damage. I am always amazed when I stop to check if my shoulder blades are up by my ears because my body is in a complete state of stress. I then breathe and let the tension out of my shoulders and they drop down. Taking my emotional temperature and being aware of my emotional state is exactly the same. Am I calm and self-assured or annoyed, frustrated or anxious? By checking in and being aware I can actually do things to soothe myself, like resting, eating, reaching out to someone or taking a breather. Begin to practice self-awareness on a daily basis.

Put together a Team
Even though my instinct is to do it all alone and I am hard-wired to tackle everything singlehandedly, I forced myself to put together a team of people to support me physically, emotionally and spiritually. This action literally saved my life. It didn’t happen overnight but I got over my pride and eventually got the support I needed. I had people I talked to and called for emotional support, people who helped me with actual daily or weekly tasks and family and friends who took shifts for me so I could recover or get stuff in my own life taken care of. Ask for help!

Take a break!
My default mode is to go the extra mile, push to get it all done and keep at it until I resolve any issue. As a caregiver, these traits are both a great resource and a dangerous downfall. Being the voice of those we love and never giving up until everything is taken care of is the stuff of heroes. It also the stuff of burnout. I’m not saying we should slack off or ignore what needs to be done, I’m saying we need to take a break sometimes. We need to get into the habit of allowing ourselves a change of scenery, a 5-minute breather, or just a sitting down for a bit and taking a deep breath. We should also try and do something nice for ourselves. A mini vacation can be had in as little as 30 minutes!

Let’s make a pledge to protect ourselves by taking these and any other positive actions that work for us to head off the burnout before it even has a chance to take effect. Let’s have a year of preventive, healthy living. Let’s make sure caregiving doesn’t rob us of joy and the goodness of life. Let’s get the help we need when we need it to stay balanced and blessed with the sense of well being that we deserve.

Happy New Year!

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