Research: 66% of parents are prone to burnout

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Researchers at Ohio State University have found that 66% of parents are prone to emotional burnout. Moreover, this condition most often occurs in women who have more than one child.

What is parental burnout and what are the symptoms?

Speaking in layman's terms, burnout is a condition caused by a large amount of stress in a short period of time. In other words, emotional fatigue.

“If you begin to see in your child not a loved one, but something constantly annoying, if you are excessively irritable, wake up already tired, suffer from a constant headache, feel a loss of motivation: all this is a reason to seek help”, – assures Dr. Bernadette Melnyk , chief medical officer at Ohio University.

What to do if you do experience parental burnout?

There is no one-size-fits-all recipe, but experts have put together some tips that will help you survive parental burnout.

Spend time alone. Advice that many experts give. Maybe you should simply watch a movie alone. Someone will benefit from a few five-minute breaks during the day.

Or vice versa – try to talk to other parents. Experts advise not to neglect the company of other people, especially those close to you in spirit. Sometimes a banal conversation can really help, when you complain about life, and in response you hear: “I have the same thing!”

Get rid of unnecessary routine. Many parents who have faced burnout tend to overestimate their own strengths. As a rule, such people completely fill their schedule, not leaving themselves a single minute of freedom. Maybe you are one of them. And, perhaps, you should give up some things to make time for yourself.

And at the same time – from bad habits. As a rule, parents make sure that their children eat well, go to bed on time and do not spend too much time on their phones. Try to follow these rules yourself.

But what if all this does not help?

As a rule, parents tend to consider the symptoms described in this article to be their own weakness. But this is not so.
It must be admitted that not all problems can be solved with banal rest, meditation or breathing exercises. Sometimes the problem requires more serious, professional intervention. Discuss your condition with your doctor. Perhaps your case requires work with a psychologist or medication.