Have you ever found yourself suffering from caregiver fatigue? Or even compassion fatigue? Both happen when we care for others and don’t take care of ourselves. Here’s how to identify it and cope with it.

“What time is it, Mrs. Ojeda?” one of my students asked.

“Two minutes since the last time you asked,” I answered, fighting to keep the edge out of my voice. After all, the student, a first grader, probably didn’t know how to tell time.

“Thank you, she said with a gap-toothed smile. That means the dorm opens in three more minutes, right?”

I nodded and continued walking around the playground; another long afternoon of supervising students stretched before me. Between preparing for classes, weekend supervision two weeks in a row, faculty families, and extra meetings, I felt worn out. Even worse, I had made poor choices about how late I stayed up. I’d let a few of my regular self-care routines slide.

That edge to my voice alerted me I had started down the slippery slope to caregiver fatigue. I work at a boarding school for 1st-12th grade students. As the school year progresses, it feels more and more like a big family. Which means I get to know the students and their families. And I hear about their backgrounds and some of their trauma. I want to do more and more for them and forget to set reasonable boundaries. Having students over once a week is ok. Having students over every night? Not so good.

Caregiver fatigue makes us cranky and unpleasant to be around. It adds a sting to our voices and makes us say things we don’t really mean. Family caregivers can suffer from fatigue, too. Today’s podcast will help you identify when you’re experiencing fatigue and offer three ways to cope with it.

You can find out more about caregiver fatigue in this article from the Seniorlink Blog.

This episode of Self-Care Hacks has strategies for recognizing caregiver burnout in yourself or someone else.

These episodes feature family caregivers with great advice from a neuropsychologist SCH026 and the podcaster from Happy, Healthy Caregiver SCH 074.

Next week I’ll share more hacks to help family caregivers care for themselves. Join me!

It's National Family Caregiver Month! Find out how to identify and cope with caregiver fatigue. #NFCM #caregiverfatigue #selfcaresunday
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