Wellness for Caregivers: How to Support Yourself While Supporting Others

January 21, 2026
Kendra Reynolds
Lifestyle

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

You pour your heart out into caring for others, but who is caring for you? Caregiver well-being is not selfish. It’s a requirement of long-term caregiving. More than 60% of caregivers are showing signs of burnout. Around 5–9% of parents meet clinical criteria for burnout, with higher rates among those caring for children with special needs. Regardless of whether you’re taking care of little children, taking care of elderly family members, or taking care of home-based chronic illness, the physical and emotional loads can drain your own well-being.

Self-care as a caregiver is not something that adds one more item to your never-ending list of things to do, but something that builds sustainable habits to replenish energy reserves. The single most important thing you can do as a caregiver is to take care of yourself because your own health directly affects your ability to offer good care.

Learning the Hidden Cost of Caregiving

Preventing burnout as a caregiver begins with understanding where the stress comes from in caring for another human life. Although caregiving may be a fulfilling experience, the strain on your physical and emotional well-being can feel crippling. Being armed in your mind with a toolbox on how to identify burnout, mitigate stress, and fight off physical disease is just as much a necessity for any caregiver as a first-aid kit and medication log.

The most prevalent indicators of caregiver burnout are:

Physical or emotional exhaustion not relieved by rest
Withdrawal from activities, family, and events that previously brought you pleasure
Irritability, anxiety, or despair
Missed appointments with your own doctor and your own medical conditions
Burdened by caregiving responsibilities

Another key difference you find when your resources are constrained is between productive and busy. You owe it to yourself, as well as to the person for whom you’re caregiving, to find a means to include self-care in your life. Allow yourself to rest and enjoy the things that provide you joy on a daily basis. You will be a more effective caregiver because of it.

Building Your Support System and Asking for Help

Good caregiver wellness entails the busting of the myth that you must do everything on your own. Studies have shown that caregivers who ask and get help experience less burnout and stress. A support group alleviates stress and establishes required emotional buffers.

Strategic actions towards building support are:

Create a list of your work and social contacts, such as family members, siblings, friends, neighbors, and local aging and disability resource centers
Recall a list of tangible ways others can help—another person could take your loved one for a 15-minute walk, go out and shop for groceries, or help with insurance forms
Break down caregiving tasks into easy, concrete requests so help can be more easily provided
Locate caregiver support groups, both on the web and in person, to meet others with your background

Dividing a task into extremely tiny steps is less difficult for individuals to do. And they will be happy to assist — but you need to guide them. Don’t put it off until you’re in over your head and burned out, or your health has begun to deteriorate, before you get assistance.

Functional Self-Care Ideas That Actually Work For Your Lifestyle

Self-care for a caregiver must be realistic and achievable for your personal situation. Organized break times, support network, awareness, proper sleeping and eating, and consistent exercise are simple methods of coping with the stress of caregiving.

Micro-self-care tips for busy caregivers:

Five-minute resets: Deep breathing, stretching, or brief meditation at transitions
Maintenance of health: Schedule regular check-ins with your doctor, eat healthy foods, and rest well
Mental health care: Talk to valued family and friends, or speak with mental health professionals
Break scheduling: Plan regular short breaks and long relief breaks when possible
Boundary management: Set limits on additional commitments that drain your energy

Professional assistance through therapy can be a key part of acquiring healthy coping strategies. Individual counseling and caregiver support groups tailored to their caregiving task are beneficial for most caregivers.

Caregiver wellness is a necessity, allowing you to deliver sustainable, high-quality care and maintain your own health and well-being. Preventing burnout in caregivers requires taking proactive self-care practices, having good support systems in place, and possessing the sense to seek help before you break.

Remember, self-care makes you a better caregiver, not a selfish one. Your health is not so much about you, but about all the people who depend on your care. Identify one individual who can assist you and one minute self-care task you can finish this week. I assure your future self and your loved ones will thank you.