SECTION C – PREVENTING BURN-OUT
C1. WHAT IS CAREGIVER BURN-OUT?
You may already be at the burn-out stage, which occurs after a long period of continual stressful caregiving. It is vital to your well-being that you acknowledge this and begin to nurture yourself back into wholeness. Awareness of the sources and symptoms of burn-out is the first step in both preventing and dealing with burn-out.
Symptoms of burnout vary. The following are some of the more common signs:
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
· Continual exhaustion
· Susceptibility to illness
· Frequent accidents (small or serious) - Clumsiness
EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS
· Impatience
· Irritability
· Forgetfulness
· Emotional numbness
· Unable to experience enjoyment
COPING SYMPTOMS
· Denial of burnout symptoms
· Increased compulsive or addictive behavior
· Withdrawal or few social contacts
· Discontinued hobbies or recreational activities
· Few activities outside of your role as a caregiver
C2. BURN-OUT PREVENTION CHECKLIST
1 = ALWAYS
2 = USUALLY
3 = SOMETIMES
4 = RARELY
5 = NEVER
TAKING A BREAK
|
1 |
Do I take regular breaks from my "work”? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
2 |
Do I practice regular relaxation techniques? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
3 |
Do I have regular hobbies that I take time out for and enjoy? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
4 |
Can I detach from my work? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
EXERCISE
|
5 |
Do I regularly participate in some kind of exercise? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
6 |
Do I participate in non-competitive physical activity? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
SELF-NURTURING
|
7 |
Do I regularly acknowledge myself? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
8 |
Do I laugh daily? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
9 |
Do I usually eat a balanced diet? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
10 |
Do I do something enjoyable every day? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
11 |
Is my home is comfortable and pleasant to be in? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
12 |
Do I usually get enough rest? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
SUPPORT
|
13 |
Am I willing to seek support? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
14 |
Do I have the ability to acknowledge and express my feelings? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
15 |
Do I have anyone I can express my true feelings to? |
1 2 3 4 5 |
16. The support I need most is: emotional practical spiritual
17. What kind of support would help me deal with the challenges of caregiving?
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C3. WAYS TO REDUCE BURN-OUT
PHYSICAL ANTI-STRESS METHODS
01. Take deep breaths, using your stomach muscles.
02. Exercise... take walks, swim, dance, run.
03. Take short breaks, go outside and sit for ten minutes, take a short 20 minute nap.
04. Eat slowly... and less, in a relaxed fashion.
05. Drive slowly. If possible, drive less and enjoy the drive.
06. Turn off violent TV shows. Instead, listen to soothing music.
07. Get a massage.
08. Turn off the phone, take your watch off for the afternoon.
EMOTIONAL ANTI-STRESS METHODS
09. Listen carefully to others.
10. Work on fixing their situation and not them.
11. Drop all annoying, time-consuming activities or people.
12. Take time to enjoy simple things - go into the garden and smell the flowers.
13. Treat yourself with beauty - art, nature, music.
14. Set a daily quota for laughs and hugs.
15. Get your anger out - write, scream, exercise.
16. Enjoy a good cry - watch a sad movie
17. Spend time with your loved ones.
18. Talk about it to a friend.
19. Join a support group. Start one.
20. Stop protecting people - stop assuming people are less powerful than you.
21. Allow people to experience your weaknesses as well as your joy and strengths.
22. Be with people who do not make demands on you - seek 'Givers', not 'Takers'
23. Say 'No' when you want to - don't provide a reason for this.
24. Take a long shower, sit in a hot bath with bubbles.
25. Be grateful for what you have in your life.
26. Act like a child. Be inappropriate at times - so what !
MENTAL ANTI-STRESS METHODS
27. Stop worrying about remembering ... write a list, keep a calendar.
28. Don't waste your time worrying about things you cannot change.
29. Set realistic goals - both daily and long term.
30. Avoid irritations like arguments, crowds, and long queues.
31. Allow yourself time. Leave 20 minutes early for an appointment.
32. Let go of your guilt.... forgive yourself because life is a learning experience.
33. Keep learning. Take a course in something non-caregiving. Read non-caregiving books.
34. Do something fun. Paint. Write a short story. Garden.... whatever.... JUST DO IT!
35. Be around people who support you. Who stimulate you. Who challenge you.
36. Practice resignation. Some things can't be controlled. Let it go - give it up.
SPIRITUAL ANTI-STRESS METHODS
37. Be still ... daydream. Purposefully do nothing for a period of time. Just sit.
38. Learn about relaxation - practice it.
39. Get in touch with the spiritual side of yourself.
40. Deal with your grief - write a letter to the departed loved one, then burn it.
41. Come to terms with death and your purpose in life.
42. Develop spiritual practices that replenish you.
43. Pace yourself - one thing at a time.
44. Feed your soul. Recognize the mystery and magic of life.
45. Recognize and accept your human-ness.
"Stirring the porridge" love represents a willingness to share ordinary human life, to find meaning in the simple, unromantic tasks: earning a living, living within a budget, putting out the garbage, feeding the baby in the middle of the night. To "stir the porridge" means to find the relatedness, the value, even the beauty,in simple and ordinary things, not to eternally demand a cosmic drama, an entertainment, or an extraordinary intensity in everything.… it represents the discovery of the sacred in the midst of the humble and ordinary. ROBERT JOHNSON
C4. BURN-OUT ACTION LIST
Things I commit to doing to reduce burn-out:
1. PHYSICAL
2. EMOTIONAL
3. MENTAL
4. SPIRITUAL
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