Rosalind “Roz” Marshall-Jones joined “Parenting Impossible” to share her experience as a caregiver and her advice for other caregivers to avoid burnout and plan for the future.
In Roz and Annette’s professional and personal experiences, they have seen the lack of future planning through their work with a number of clients. They both recommend having conversations with siblings early on, even small conversations, before moving on to include parents and other family members in the conversation about the future of a loved one’s health and estate. This practice can help you prevent burnout and set family plans and expectations ahead of time.
During the pandemic, we have all been forced to stay home more often than normal, and this can make creating a work-life balance difficult—especially for caregivers. Roz says that caregivers specifically need to have conversations about the future of a person’s condition and their ever-adapting needs at the beginning of their work with a patient so that the expectations and plans are set from the start. Otherwise, burnout can follow quickly.
Another reason that burnout is common for caregivers is that many of them are managing two households. The stress and guilt that can come from their work are easy to bring home and have an impact on their family’s life as well. For Roz, self-care is one of the most important ways to make a difference in your work and home life. She says, “You can’t give from overwhelm, you can only give from overflow.”
You can follow Roz on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Youtube, and you can find more information about her business, Jacksonville’s Best Caregivers, here.
Annette Hines has been practicing in the areas of Special Needs, Elder Law, and Estate Planning for more than 20 years. Ms. Hines brings personal experience with special needs to her practice and podcasts as the mother of two daughters, one of whom passed away from Mitochondrial disease in November 2013. This deep, personal understanding of special needs fuels her passion for quality special needs planning and drives her dedication to help others within the special needs community.