Do you care for someone who is struggling with an illness (medical or mental health)? Despite what we might think, caring for someone with any type of illness is a job; it can be very stressful and lead to burnout if we are not careful. Often caregivers work full time or part times jobs and care for the individual who is ill. Dealing with the stress of this, if not managed well, can lead to burnout.
What is burnout?
Webster’s Dictionary defines burnout as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” Stress is a part of everyday life. It is unavoidable. Stress is about too much – too many pressures that demand too much of you both physically and mentally. Burnout, on the other hand, is about not enough. Being burned out can manifest itself as a feeling of emptiness, a lack of motivation, and inability to care. When we experience burnout, we often don’t see any hope of positive change, or any change for that matter, in our situations.
While we usually are aware of being under a lot of stress, we don’t always notice burnout when it happens and once burnout is detected, to reverse the affects is a difficult and long process.
by Shannon Martin, Director of Eastside Psychiatric Hospital