What comes to your mind when you hear the word, burnout? In this article, we shall be discussing burnout: something most parents are susceptible to in varying degrees. We
8 June, 2022
3 min read
What comes to your mind when you hear the word, burnout? In this article, we shall be discussing burnout: something most parents are susceptible to in varying degrees. We
Description of burnout
Dr. Puja Aggarwal describes parental burnout as the exhaustion that one feels from the chronic stress of parenting. Realistically, effective and efficient parenting is hard work: it involves a lot of inputs of commitment, sacrifices, and relentless efforts. Thus, a repeated cycle of these predisposes parents to burnouts, a form of exhaustion caused by emotional, physical, and mental stress.
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Symptoms of burnout
The symptoms of parental burnout are numerous.
Socially, it could manifest through emotional distancing from one’s children, pleasurable activities, and people in one's social circles.
Emotionally, it can be visible signs of emotional exhaustion, tendencies to be easily angered, and increased feelings of anxiety or depression.
Physically, it could present itself through headaches, neck pain, and muscle aches.
Finally, internally, it could be overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, loss of motivation, and disinterest in everything.
Causes of parental burnout
There are two notable causes of parental burnouts amongst others.
First, loss of jobs, houses, or overt stress from the workplace can trigger parental burnout. As parents become worrisome about meeting the economics of their homes including the needs of their children, intrinsic exhaustion may set in.
Second is psychological make-ups: parents with poor ability to cope in difficult situations, expressed through low tolerance level for unpredictability and ineffective skills to manoeuvre the illogicalities of living, are susceptible to parental burnouts.
Way out of burnout
First, any parents experiencing burnouts should get emotional support. They should discuss with people in their support networks such as spouse, counsellor, more experienced parents, friends, and colleagues. In particular, discussing and solutioning with knowledgeable people can be emotionally soothing and relieving.
Secondly, such parents should take enough rest. The rest should be the physical activity of sleeping and the emotional activities of learning to slow down on things.
Lastly, the parent should take out time to exercise: it increases energy level, boosts the immune system, and reduces stress.
Actions
If you perceive things are getting difficult, please speak with someone. In addition, create time to rest and to exercise.
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