Caregiving Fatigue
Therapy for pet parents navigating life with a care-intensive animal.
Offering in-person counselling in Vancouver and virtual counselling across British Columbia.
Caring for an animal who needs a lot from you can slowly take over your life.
Your days may revolve around medications, appointments, monitoring symptoms, disrupted sleep, or making sure someone is there when you can't be. This can happen with an ageing or seriously ill animal, but also with chronic conditions that require ongoing care. Over time, the ongoing responsibility can leave you exhausted.
You can love your animal deeply and still resent how much their care asks of you. Maybe you miss being able to leave the house without planning around them, sleep through the night, go away for a weekend, or make a decision without first thinking about what your animal needs. Wanting a break can bring guilt of its own.
Pet parents can also find themselves doing all of this with surprisingly little support. There isn't the same network of caregiver and respite services that may be available when caring for another human. Friends and family may care about what you're going through without really understanding what your days involve.
How Therapy Can Help
Caregiving can be lonely, especially when talking openly about how hard it has become brings advice or opinions you weren't asking for. Sometimes you may just need to share that you're exhausted without having someone read more into it, offer solutions you weren't asking for, or tell you what they think you should do.
There can be comfort in saying some of this out loud and simply being heard. Therapy can also give some attention back to you when so much of your time and energy is focused on how your animal is doing.
Our work together may include:
Talking honestly about how caregiving is affecting you, including the parts you may not say to other people
Making room for anger, resentment, guilt, or the simple wish for a break
Finding small, realistic ways for your own needs and life to have some room alongside the care your animal requires