Burned Out Caring for Elderly

Jill, you need a vacation. Preferably far away from home. Anywhere you like -- beach, mountains, a city you've always wanted to visit. Even if you don't have a huge amount of money, grab a map and decide the farthest you can drive in one day and still be sane. Stick a compass stem into the street where you live and draw an arc. Anything along or near the arc is fair game.

For example, I live in Boston and once I hit about four or five hours of driving, I've had it for the day (I can do more but it's a vacation so I would not want to push myself). That puts me at Southern Maine if I go North, Springfield or so if I go West and New York City if I go South. And there's lots of things in between, like Cape Cod, Tanglewood and Portsmouth, NH just to name a few.

Yes, gas is expensive but this is mental health money. You deserve some time off, yanno. And, if there's no car and it really is too expensive, stay home. But don't go to work, don't call in, don't drop by. Have a few days at home and just sit in your back yard, or weed the garden or go to a few movies or whatever you enjoy doing.

I'm sure that you have some sort of alternative care arrangements that you can rely on, because, after all, you'd need to have a contingency plan if you fell ill. Well, this is preventative medicine. Don't feel guilty about it, just do it.

And welcome to A2K. You can also vent here if you like. We're always open.