Hi @outlander
Burnout - yes - I had that when my son was alive and I was totally exhausted and stressed out in a big way - so I understand what you mean when you say your hobbies have become a chore - my psychiatrist told me that playing the piano and study was an excellent way to spend my time and I know it certainly was but it was just hard work
And I hear you - everything is just hard work - and I haven't had to care for a person with dementia so that is a blank page in my book but I can well understand that the person you are spending the most time with is repeating himself and forgetting to take his medication and I didn't read that part of the story though having him go out when you didn't know where he was must have been a worry
I understand
Self-care is important. Whoever suggest a few minutes of reading was better than none - a short walk is better than none - that's really on the mark - it must be frustrating to finally sit down for a break to be interupted with a question you have already answered 10 times before - I hear that - and it's yourself you need to care for at such a time -
You do a lot for your Pop and it's an untold story in your life about how much you do - no one will recognise your degree of commitment so it seems like a thankless job - but you know and this is what you are doing
But it is very important to care for yourself too - the line is blurry - yes - when is enough enough?
When I stop and think of how my life was 30 to 40 years ago when my son's behaviour was out of control I know I did a great job - at the time I couldn't see it. He had BPD - not me but it must be so much harder to deal with when you have that disorder
I guess dealing with it has to be a day to day - even hour to hour decision - but please value yourself in what you are doing because what you are doing is amazing and you are so young
All the best outlander
Dec
