Cancer Diary: BURNOUT! REMORSE! GRIEF!
Cancer, like other debilitating illnesses, require immense effort from those taking care of the cancer-stricken patient. This effort can be redoubled and accompanied by a range of personally invested emotions when the caregiver is a relative, particularly a spouse. Cleveland Clinic says" Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that happens while you’re taking care of someone else. Stressed caregivers may experience fatigue, anxiety and depression.
To that, I would add anger -- followed by remorse. In waves and cycles. Never feeling good about yourself. And then feeling guilty from the sense of relief after the cancer-stricken relative dies. Being able to understand oneself and forgive oneself can lead to stabilization and at least some aspect of comfort (unfortunately, often months after the patient has died). This article can help wtih the understanding and forgiving part: Caregiver Burnout: What It Is, Signs You’re Experiencing It, and How to Cope.
Barbara Karnes offers some assistance for caregivers (including relatives) caught in the burnout-reaction-remorse (and, later, grief) sequence: It’s Called “Beyond Burnout.”
During COVID, burnout was killingly high, with little hope for support. Now support organizations have reappeared or spring up. The above articles have links to some.
For other Cancer Diary posts, click HERE.
Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page, Carl's Cancer Compendium, as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts: Cancer Diary.
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