Friday Q&A: caregiver burnout; Ozempic; fall allergies vs. viral symptoms; & emotional eating

It's a Friday FESTIVAL of subscriber questions 🎉

ICYMI 👉

• Your Guide to Fall/Winter Viruses & Vaccines

• Five Steps for Making Difficult Decisions

• Five Things To Do When You Get COVID

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Question #1 (about caregiver burnout) is free for everyone. Questions #2-4 (about Ozempic, fall allergies; and stress eating) are for paid subscribers only.

Click here to submit your questions (about anything) for future Q&A posts!

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are entirely my own. They do not reflect those of my employer, nor are they a substitute for advice from your personal physician.

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QUESTION #1: CAREGIVER BURNOUT

I recently read an article in “Brain Life” about women having to balance caregiving for aging parents with taking care of their children and having careers. I am a nurse in home care trying to support the choice of aging at home. Predominantly, this responsibility falls on the daughter. I see this everyday in my patient’s family caregivers. What advice do you give your patients who have assumed the role of primary caregiver for their aging parents? -Jan

Dear Jan,

This is a great question. Anyone who has ever cared for another vulnerable human being knows it can be extremely rewarding, but also potentially exhausting. My best advice for anyone caring for aging loved ones is to take good care of their own mental and physical health.

Specifically, here is my advice to help prevent caregiver burnout:

1. Validate and practice self-compassion

If you find caregiving frustrating, you are normal. If you feel guilty about not doing more for the person you’re caring for and about having your own needs, I have a diagnosis for you: human. It’s important to name and normalize your own feelings of distress. They are valid!

2. Shift your locus of control

Psychologists have long understood that people’s perception of whether they control their own fate—or are at the mercy of outside events—affects their health. Shifting from an externalized locus of control to an internal locus of control—that is, taking charge of our own lives again—can restore our sense of agency and self-determination.

So, pause to reflect on your caregiving role. Recognize the areas where you have little-to-no control (for example, a difficult diagnosis or a challenging interpersonal relationship)—and try your best to accept them. Next, identify areas where have agency (for example, the ability to make meatloaf or to listen without judgment)—and lean into it.

3. Meet your basic biological needs

“Self-care” is not a luxury. Yet caring for oneself when caring for others is a tall order. Burnout (i.e., a state of low energy and low motivation) is a common barrier to realizing even the best intentions. 

My advice? Lower the bar of what you can get done, and meet your basic needs first:

• S = Sleep. Our brains and bodies can’t function without rest. Most humans need 7-9 hours. Prioritize it.

• T = Talk. To loved ones, friends, and/or a therapist, if you have one. Externalize your thoughts and feelings. Tell your story—to someone.

• E = Eat. We need protein, fiber, healthy fats, and whole grains. Satiety at regular intervals is critical for our bodies and brains. Experience it.

• M = Move. Walk, cycle, get outside. Connect with your body in any way, shape, or form. Just do it.

Caregiving can make meeting these needs impossibly hard. But it’s critical to think of caregiving as a marathon, not a sprint, and to pace yourself along the way. 

Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

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QUESTION #2: OZEMPIC

Ozempic sounds like a miracle drug from what I read. I am someone who eats pretty well and I exercise, but I can’t seem to lose weight for more than a few months- it comes right back if I stray from a strict diet. So, what are the downsides of Ozempic? Do people tend to gain all the weight back when they stop it? -LK

Dear LK,