If you have been caregiving for so long, are very tired and don't want to do it anymore, then it's time to stop. But you may not be able to simply stop caregiving if you're doing so for a loved one. These matters aren't always so easy, or so cut and dried that you can just walk away. Since you don't provide any details, it's hard to give you advice, really.
You may be burned out, you may need a new job if you're caregiving professionally, you may need to get your loved one into managed care or respite for a few weeks if that's applicable.
Life is short, that much we know for certain. Try to figure out how to make YOURSELF happy and content, and what it will require, then set about doing it, if possible, one step at a time.
If you ask "How do I know if I have caregiver burnout?," then you are burn out. Start looking into respite options so you can have a little "time off" from caregiving. During your time off, evaluate if your loved one has reached the point of needing professional 24/7/365 care. The sad fact is that most caregivers don't realize that their have needs that must be met as well as the needs of those they care for.
Can you give yourself a vacation or at least some breaks? Can you get aides to help you with the caregiving? Get connected with a local social worker so that you know all of your options. All the best to you!
People can change jobs for a variety of reasons. Being tired doesn't necessarily mean burnout (to me), although I see some here think so.
I think the question is deeper and it requires you to go inside and feel what is going on 'with you.'
* I do believe that many caregivers who use the word 'burnout' have complex physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental manifestations - be it exhausting, overwhelm, inability to focus, no-low energy, anxiety, depression, gaining/losing weight, addictive behavior, and come out in any number of ways: crying, anger, resentment to name a few.
Many people feel and/or are stuck due to costs. Are you caring for a family member or others?
Do you set boundaries or time for yourself to renew / re-energize. Many 'thrown' into this work do not know how to take care of their self. They never thought about it, esp women.
* This work is hard and people burnout. As do fire/men-and-women, nurses, and anyone else in life threatening and/or helping fields.
* I believe some people are so 'on' for so long that they 'try' to numb out how they feel and just keep going - although it will catch up with you. We cannot run on empty. Our physical and mental health will be affected if we do not take care of ourself and find some balance.
It takes a lot of physical ability (in a variety of ways - moving/assisting a person, cleaning, shopping, making a bed - and more); it takes patience and understanding of what dementia is and how to respond.
My question to you is: Why are you asking us? If you are tired and don't want to do it anymore, s-t-o-p. I presume you may be asking us because you might not be able to stop for a variety of reasons - ? let us know more about your situation. You do not indicate whether you can or cannot 'stop' nor mention any of the extenuating circumstances of your work, or (how your) personal life (is affected).
You might want to consider therapy and delving into what is going on inside you with a professional.
Meditate. Sit and ask yourself how you feel inside or as I would do, Ask your inside to talk to you. And, you sitting in the chair and quietly 'listen.' Profound insight may present itself to you.
How do you know? Your statement that follows your question is probably Webster's short and sweet definition of burn out. If you have no family members to offer you some relief, the tired part just gets more tired. Good luck to you.
You know that you have burnout when you've "been doing this for so long and am just tired and don't want to do it anymore." It's as simple as that. Please make sure you are taking care of yourself, and if needed look into placing your LO in the appropriate facility, so you don't end up in the statistics where the caregiver dies before the one being cared for.
Let's change the words "Don't want to ..." to " just can't " ! Often it not a matter of not wanting to - it's a matter of "I can't " . Long Distance runners have a thing called "HITTING THE WALL" . A point where they want to finish the race, but collapse because they have exhausted ever ounce of "want to" they have ! I've been a 24/7/365 caregiver for my wife for 7 hears ! Since 2014 she's had 3 back surgeries , 3 knee surgeries ( staph infection after the first ! ). Revision knee surgery after the staff and a fall which broke her ankle on the same leg as knee surgery ! She's completely non ambulatory - and now , to top it off , just diagnosed with bladder cancer ♋️ . We've been married for 60 years ! Love her dearly ! There are many times ( especially during the night " when I "can't " sneaks into my thoughts - but I get up and "go" help ... when you run out of fuel it's the love that keeps you going !
I also agree with ZippyZee. You don't give any details on your profile, like who you're caring for, what is their cognitive condition/physical health, how long, what state you're living in, if you're living with the person, etc.
If you are the DPoA for your LO and they have a medical diagnosis of dementia, I would start researching options. - adult daycare - facilities - in-home agency aids
If your LO has meager finances, I would contact social services for their county (online at the Dept of Health and Human Services) to have them come and do an in-home needs assessment to see if they qualify for any help. It won't be full time but it'd probably be better than what's going on now. You can ask them about Medicaid for your LO.
If you're not the DPoA and your LO has dementia you can work with county social services for them to gain guardianship. This may be trickier if your LO lives in your home, but less so if you live in theirs (since you can leave).
If your LO requires a trip to the ER any time in the future you may have an opportunity to have them go directly into a facility but would require you being preemptive to insist they are an "unsafe discharge" and there's no one at the home to care for them.
These are just some very basic ideas of how you can rescue yourself from the caregiving burden -- we would need much more detail from you in order to give more specific and appropriate suggestions. There's a lot that can or can't happen based on what's going on in your situation.
You can also contact your local area's Agency on Aging for resources and information, or contact a large local church (any church) even if you're not a member, and ask if they have any programs for seniors and caregivers (like adult day care) or a Care Ministry, where you may be able to find some volunteers to come in to give you a break. However, do not rely on this as a permanent solution as all churches struggle with the revolving door of volunteers who are not as committed as paid staff.
May you find what you need and gain rest and peace.
You're burned out when your own health or personal care starts to suffer. You're burned out when, in the unlikely event that you're offered a break, you find that you cannot truly "take a break." You're burned out when you're yelling/snapping at people you truly love but who have nothing to do with the caregiving situation (I am specifically thinking of young children, but could apply to others as well). You're burned out when you secretly wish something bad would happen to you so that you don't have to do caregiving anymore (I used to wish for an emergency trip to the hosp where I could stay for at least a few days and not have to be a caregiver). This is not a complete list. If I think of more, I'll add them. Others will have ideas as well. Thanks for posting about this very important issue. I believe I was burned out and still have not bounced back years later, so it is something that really does matter and I'm sorry you're so exhausted right now.
You may be burned out, you may need a new job if you're caregiving professionally, you may need to get your loved one into managed care or respite for a few weeks if that's applicable.
Life is short, that much we know for certain. Try to figure out how to make YOURSELF happy and content, and what it will require, then set about doing it, if possible, one step at a time.
GOOD LUCK!
I think the question is deeper and it requires you to go inside and feel what is going on 'with you.'
* I do believe that many caregivers who use the word 'burnout' have complex physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental manifestations - be it exhausting, overwhelm, inability to focus, no-low energy, anxiety, depression, gaining/losing weight, addictive behavior, and come out in any number of ways: crying, anger, resentment to name a few.
Many people feel and/or are stuck due to costs.
Are you caring for a family member or others?
Do you set boundaries or time for yourself to renew / re-energize.
Many 'thrown' into this work do not know how to take care of their self. They never thought about it, esp women.
* This work is hard and people burnout. As do fire/men-and-women, nurses, and anyone else in life threatening and/or helping fields.
* I believe some people are so 'on' for so long that they 'try' to numb out how they feel and just keep going - although it will catch up with you. We cannot run on empty. Our physical and mental health will be affected if we do not take care of ourself and find some balance.
It takes a lot of physical ability (in a variety of ways - moving/assisting a person, cleaning, shopping, making a bed - and more); it takes patience and understanding of what dementia is and how to respond.
My question to you is: Why are you asking us?
If you are tired and don't want to do it anymore, s-t-o-p.
I presume you may be asking us because you might not be able to stop for a variety of reasons - ? let us know more about your situation.
You do not indicate whether you can or cannot 'stop' nor mention any of the extenuating circumstances of your work, or (how your) personal life (is affected).
You might want to consider therapy and delving into what is going on inside you with a professional.
Meditate. Sit and ask yourself how you feel inside or as I would do, Ask your inside to talk to you. And, you sitting in the chair and quietly 'listen.' Profound insight may present itself to you.
Gena / Touch Matters
It's as simple as that. Please make sure you are taking care of yourself, and if needed look into placing your LO in the appropriate facility, so you don't end up in the statistics where the caregiver dies before the one being cared for.
I've been a 24/7/365 caregiver for my wife for 7 hears !
Since 2014 she's had 3 back surgeries , 3 knee surgeries ( staph infection after the first ! ). Revision knee surgery after the staff and a fall which broke her ankle on the same leg as knee surgery ! She's completely non ambulatory - and now , to top it off , just diagnosed with bladder cancer ♋️ . We've been married for 60 years ! Love her dearly ! There are many times ( especially during the night " when I "can't " sneaks into my thoughts - but I get up and "go" help ... when you run out of fuel it's the love that keeps you going !
If you are the DPoA for your LO and they have a medical diagnosis of dementia, I would start researching options.
- adult daycare
- facilities
- in-home agency aids
If your LO has meager finances, I would contact social services for their county (online at the Dept of Health and Human Services) to have them come and do an in-home needs assessment to see if they qualify for any help. It won't be full time but it'd probably be better than what's going on now. You can ask them about Medicaid for your LO.
If you're not the DPoA and your LO has dementia you can work with county social services for them to gain guardianship. This may be trickier if your LO lives in your home, but less so if you live in theirs (since you can leave).
If your LO requires a trip to the ER any time in the future you may have an opportunity to have them go directly into a facility but would require you being preemptive to insist they are an "unsafe discharge" and there's no one at the home to care for them.
These are just some very basic ideas of how you can rescue yourself from the caregiving burden -- we would need much more detail from you in order to give more specific and appropriate suggestions. There's a lot that can or can't happen based on what's going on in your situation.
You can also contact your local area's Agency on Aging for resources and information, or contact a large local church (any church) even if you're not a member, and ask if they have any programs for seniors and caregivers (like adult day care) or a Care Ministry, where you may be able to find some volunteers to come in to give you a break. However, do not rely on this as a permanent solution as all churches struggle with the revolving door of volunteers who are not as committed as paid staff.
May you find what you need and gain rest and peace.