If you are reading this and are a woman who faces the unique opportunities and challenges of both parenting teens and caring for your own aging parents, you are a part of the Sandwich Generation. It is becoming an increasing reality for parents of teens to feel the additional weight of ensuring their own parents are cared for, whether this is at home or in nursing care.
As you navigate the often tricky emotional, financial, and time-consuming aspects of your caregiving responsibilities, something called “compassion fatigue” can affect you.
Compassion fatigue often results when a person is very preoccupied and invested in listening to, helping, and working with others who experience stress, trauma, or difficult situations themselves. If compassion fatigue sets in, it can often make easy tasks feel more burdensome, may make you feel anxious trying to help others, and may even contribute to feelings of dread, hopelessness, and depression….
