EILEEN ADLER

Being a care partner may feel like "a pesky pebble in your shoe that you have to cope with."
 

My summary from the article Your Body Knows When You're Burned Out can be read here:
burnout    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/well/live/burnout-work-stress.html  

 “Burnout, as it is defined, is not a medical condition—it's "a manifestation of chronic unmitigated stress," explained Dr. Lotte Dyrbye, a physician scientist who studies burnout at the Mayo Clinic.”  No matter the cause, stress or anxiety are debilitating, presenting in a myriad of ways. Essentially, wear and tear effects on our bodies.

Our bodies were "not designed for the kinds of stressors that we face today," said Christina Maslach, a social psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has spent her career studying burnout. Burnout is typically recognized when chronic stress occurs, and caregiving burdens may cause chronic stress.

What to do about burnout?

• Don't ignore the symptoms or assume they don't matter. Seek medical care.
• Realistically, burnout cannot be "fixed" with better self-care. Believing we can fix it can exacerbate the problem, leaving us feeling shameful and blaming ourselves for our problems, as if we should do more. (Don’t should on me!)  
• The good news is that some lifestyle choices can make burnout less likely. Social support, including talking to a therapist or meeting with friends.   
•  Mental health or exercise benefits caregiver burnout.
• Sleeping more can help too – talk to your doctor for treatment options. 

In sum, try to make time each day for something you love. Dr. Dyrbye’s “work has found that surgeons who make time for hobbies and recreation—even just 15 to 20 minutes a day—are less likely to experience burnout than surgeons who don't.”  I would suggest that each of needs time to recharge every day – make time for this.