What Is Family Burnout And How Do I Prevent It From Affecting My Family?
balance between work and rest. While it might feel like you don’t have a moment to spare between work and taking care of the kiddos in the house, identifying those spare moments in your day is absolutely necessary for your health. Establish a routine that defines time for work, sleep, studying, and other tasks. You’ll then move from task to task easier, leaving less room for conflict between others in the household. You’ll also see more clearly when you can rest! Those breaks don’t have to be anything special — a 15-minute walk by yourself outside or a 30-minute stretch with a good book in a comfy chair. Find time to let your kids have a break, too, like playing their favorite games, reading their favorite books, or playing outside. You’ll all feel more refreshed to tackle the remaining tasks of the day. Even though you can prevent or minimize burnout through a more balanced routine, sometimes that’s not enough. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Family therapy can be immensely helpful
According to one study from 2018, over half of all parents surveyed were experiencing some form of burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, lack of professional satisfaction, etc.) — and that was before the pandemic. Now, as the world enters the eighth month of the coronavirus pandemic, many parents are working from home or dealing with unemployment, and many children are doing school online. Families are spending a lot of time together at home, balancing new routines — and that’s led to family burnout. When you experience “family burnout,” the kind of exhaustion that comes from spending too much time with family, it manifests itself as physical and emotional exhaustion, an inability to handle usual tasks, and increased irritability. The more
demanding your work and home responsibilities are, the more susceptible you are to family burnout. Single parents are especially susceptible, but burnout can drastically affect romantic relationships and even children. Most people are not used to spending so much time together at home.
for maintaining your mental health when your own attempts need a boost. These are unique times, so be patient with yourself and your family as you cope with new challenges and routines. Burnout doesn’t have to be inevitable.
With all that in mind, don’t worry — family burnout is preventable. It starts with creating a
i n g F l o r i d a ?
Typically, at this point in the year, we are welcoming our snowbirds back to Florida! It’s usually a great way to cap off a busy tourism season and welcome part-time locals back for a quiet season along the Florida coast. Get a Little Bit of the Sunshine State in Your Northern Home
Add Floridian flair to your dishes.
Whether you’re missing the fresh fish or the multicultural food selection in Florida, you can still create some of your favorite plates at home. Make this a special date night with you and your
This year is a little different.
spouse! You can each choose a Floridian dish to replicate at home and see just how close you get. (Just have the local pizza place’s phone number handy!) Try it out a few times each month and see if you find any new staples in your experiments. Have a Florida TV marathon! From “The Golden Girls” to “I Dream of Jeannie,” there are plenty of Florida-based TV shows you can binge to get more of your Sunshine State. Choose frommodern staples, like “American Horror Story” and “Cougar Town,” or choose a classic such as “CSI: Miami.” Make the night even more fun by creating bingo cards that you can check off when the shows depict only-in-Florida scenarios, like palm trees instead of evergreen Christmas trees. We miss the snowbirds who chose to stay in the north this winter, but we hope this helps you cope with the snow. See you next year!
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the world, many of our winter friends have chosen to stay put in the north to limit their chance of exposure. As a result, many of you may be experiencing your first northern winter in a very long time! We wanted to offer a little bit of Florida for your northern home this holiday season. (No sunscreen necessary!) Read ‘The Doc Ford Series.’ Written by Fort Myers’ resident Randy Wayne White, “The Doc Ford Series” will transport you to the Florida shores with mysteries to keep you hooked for weeks. Each of the Ford books takes place right in Florida, pulling readers into the sunshine, sea salt, and mystery. You might be missing White’s Sanibel Island restaurant inspired by Doc Ford, too. So, pour yourself a little rum, grill up some burgers, and get lost in the stories spun by a Florida native.
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