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Parent burnout - what's behind it?
When parents everything grows over their heads
Help: Mom and Dad can no longer!
Family life can be quite exhausting. The demands are high, the responsibility and everyday tasks are constantly growing. And then there's Corona, too. Many moms and dads feel exhausted, worn down between childcare and household chores, home office and quarantine, and all the little time- and energy-sucking activities of everyday family life. When the personal stress limit is exceeded, parent burnout can result. Read here what is behind it, how you can recognize a burnout and where you can find help.
The multitude of parental tasks wears on the strength and nerves. The dear little ones demand constant attention, the tasks pile up, the nights are short - and that 24 hours around the clock on 7 days. All mothers and fathers know the feeling of tiredness and exhaustion during strenuous phases. When self-care falls short, the condition can solidify and develop into burnout. Parent burnout is not an official diagnosis, but it is an issue that must be taken seriously.
Burnout is a term used by many people in a professional context. The symptoms are similar in parent burnout. The following signs, for example, can indicate total exhaustion, whereby burnout develops insidiously:
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Affected mothers and fathers feel burned out. They have a feeling of inner emptiness and no drive anymore.
The performance decreases. Affected individuals can concentrate poorly, are listless, create less and find it increasingly difficult to make decisions.
Between "I can no longer" and "I must hold out for the sake of the children", the constant carousel of thoughts no longer wants to stand still.
Affected people are stressed, sensitive, restless, quickly irritated, close to tears. The ability to recover is lost.
The self-doubt grows, sufferers have a guilty conscience and the feeling of having failed as parents. The increasing pressure triggers diffuse anxiety.
The interest in the relationship, everyday life and attention to the child decreases, the exhaustion leads to indifference or neglect of the child. At worst, psychological and physical violence may occur.
The ongoing stress can also make you physically ill. Burnout can manifest itself, for example, in complaints such as sleep problems, dizziness, migraines, stomach pain, palpitations or back pain. A weakened immune system can lead to an increased susceptibility to infections.
Where to get help?
If everyday life becomes permanently too much for you and the bad days predominate, then you should seek professional support from experts as soon as possible. The sooner you take the alarm signs seriously and seek help, the better. This is not a sign of weakness, but of strength! A wide range of treatment options lead out of the exhaustion trap, such as psychotherapy with a therapist in private practice, a visit to a day clinic, a stay at a health resort or rehabilitation treatment in a clinic. In acute crises, please contact your family doctor, the nearest psychiatric clinic or the emergency doctor.
More informationLinks for further reading
If you need someone to talk to or are looking for advice, you can call the parents' hotline free of charge. The "Nummer gegen Kummer" is 0800 -111 0 550.
If you prefer to email or chat, feel free to contact the online counseling service of the Bundeskonferenz für Erziehungsberatung e.V. (bke) at www.bke-elternberatung.de. The counseling is free of charge and anonymous if desired.
The telephone consultation of the Federal Center for Health Education BZgA on mental health in the corona pandemic can be reached free of charge by calling 0800 2322783.
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You can get free advice from Caritas, the social service of the Catholic Church. You can reach the Caritas online counseling directly via the website or contact a counseling center near you.
In acute crisis situations, you can call the telephone counselling service on 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222.
With stress in the educating everyday life in these particularly strenuous times the experienced educating experts and - experts help of STEP registered association. The consultation is free, anonymous and country widely attainable under 0211 81 97 10 81.
The info phone of the German Depression Aid can be reached free of charge at 0800 33 44 533. Here you receive both illness and treatment-related information as well as references to points of contact to physicians and therapists.
