Are You Living With Parental Burnout? How to Assess and Address Your Exhaustion

Parenting is unbelievably rewarding. And it’s every bit as challenging. Parents worldwide are living with parental burnout, navigating each day exhausted, agitated, and wondering if they’ll be able to finish their tasks for the day before falling asleep.

Parental burnout stems from parental fatigue. While millions of parents experience both conditions, parents of special needs children are even more likely to live with chronic fatigue and burnout. The only way to move forward and give your child the attention and care they need is to evaluate your fatigue and make a plan for treating it. Below, Ability Tree First Coast has provided some of the tools you need.

How Tired Are You?      

Before forming your treatment plan, you must know what fatigue levels you’re dealing with. Have you been experiencing severe anxiety or depression symptoms? Exhaustion often leads to those and other mental health conditions, and it’s essential to recognize your symptoms and proactively take proactive steps to address them.

Also, how would you rate your parenting effectiveness and satisfaction? It’s virtually impossible to raise a child to your full potential when you’re living from day to day exhausted. And if you know there are gaps in your caregiving, it can lead to guilt and stress, thereby exacerbating any existing mental health issues. Finding ways to get rest will help you be the best parent while benefiting your overall health and well-being.

Think About Potential Negative Outcomes

When creating a treatment plan, keep your priorities in mind. You need to give your health and well-being attention, but you don’t want to neglect the most important people in their life.

For instance, try not to dive so deeply into self-care that you drop the ball on your caregiving duties or marriage. And remember not to put too much pressure on friends, relatives, and other people who are providing support. Don’t dwell on the potential negative outcomes; just be mindful of them as you change your routine.

Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices    

When it comes to your self-care treatment plan, start simple and go from there. For instance, perhaps you could replace your daily bag of chips with fresh fruit or your afternoon soda with sparkling water. Then, you can slowly transform your diet to be more nutritious and provide you with more energy.

It’s also important that you get at least a little bit of physical activity each day. Ideally, you’ll work up to exercising 150 minutes per week. But start by going for a brisk walk, jogging, or doing another low-impact movement for 15 minutes a day.

Further, look for practical changes you can make to your bedroom and routine to get better rest. Consider investing in blackout drapes and a sound machine, turning the thermostat lower, and doing a de-stressing activity (e.g., light yoga stretches, reading, meditating, etc.) before bed.

Set Goals                  

Finally, establish goals for yourself. It could be related to career advancement, your health, your relationships, or anything else. Just make sure each goal is challenging yet realistic. Many people benefit from following the SMART goals formula, meaning your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.

Now could be the perfect time to start a new hobby or even a business. Maybe you could make more time for a loved one or reach out to an old friend. Perhaps tweaking your family budget and finding ways to cut costs would inspire you to make other positive changes.

Don’t let parental burnout continue to negatively impact your health, well-being, and caregiving abilities. Take time to assess your fatigue levels and develop a plan for reducing stress and boosting energy. The advice here is a great place to start, but don’t stop looking for other solutions for enjoying this special time raising your child.