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Fighting in the Trenches
Parenting through burnout
Burnout is a complex conundrum. I had never actually heard the term until this last year. This seems especially true for people who are experiencing caregiver burnout. The inability to escape the situation can be dauting.
My husband and I needed to live apart for a time. He was working in another state and due to medical issues with our youngest child we needed to move. My husband needed to continue at his current job for a year and a half after we moved.
As we got closer to his retirement date from his first job, the weight of parenting alone started to build. It was about six months ago, as I sat in my counselor’s office telling her how I just felt so done, so burnt out, that she suggested I may be suffering from burnout.
The idea of “burnout” from parenting had never crossed my mind. I have been a stay-at-home parent for the better part of 17 years. It was a blessing when we decided for me to stay home since I had worked and gone to college when I had my oldest. Over the years there has been times when parenting was extra challenging, but overall, it hadn’t been too bad. I was blessed to be able to raise my children myself.
However, being the only parent in the home was beyond any challenge I had encountered. The fact we have no family around and I had…
