The Dying Time: Practical Wisdom for the Dying & Their Caregivers by Joan Furman & David McNabb

Author:Joan Furman & David McNabb [Furman, Joan & McNabb, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Medical, Education & Training, Family & Relationships, Death; Grief; Bereavement, Self-Help
ISBN: 9780307791368
Google: LBQQvJqMd9UC
Publisher: Harmony/Rodale
Published: 2011-04-20T00:23:43.155522+00:00

BURNOUT

Burnout is a condition that results from chronic exposure to stress, known as prolonged stress arousal. It is much more than having a very bad day. It is a condition that renders you unable to provide effective care for yourself or anyone else. It includes the chronic display of signs of stress. In addition, you may feel depersonalized, detached and uncaring, numb, or emotionally exhausted. You may lose your perspective and distort reality; for example, you may find that you are angry at people who are not dying. You may believe that you are totally ineffective in your care. Or you may become negligent and disinterested in your loved one’s well-being or grow to hate providing care. If you tend to have problems with addictive substances such as alcohol, drugs, food, or cigarettes, you may find yourself imbibing more or overdoing it.

Several things make one more prone to burnout under stressful situations such as this. If your self-esteem is low, you may need reassurance from someone else. Validation may no longer be available from your loved one, or worse, she may be critical of you and your care. If caring for yourself is not something you readily do, you may see your caregiving as your personal mission, letting your own care suffer. If you have trouble setting healthy boundaries, you may burn out quickly. Your loved one’s struggle, though it involves you intensely, is not your struggle. No matter how diligent your care, you will not prevent her death. People who feel it is their duty to “change the things they cannot change” may burn out long before care is no longer needed. Other characteristics that could make you more prone to burnout include lack of regard for yourself, so that you read the information about stress and believe that it doesn’t apply to you or put off thinking about it until after the “important” work of caregiving is done.

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