Ep #21: ADHD and caretake fatigue

In episode 21, ADHD Parenting coach, Siope Kinikini, talks about ADHD and caretaker fatigue.  Caretaker fatigue is real, especially when parenting an ADHD child as they have so much energy. Having to be always “on” to deal with all that energy can be draining-emotionally, physically, mentally. Being “on” will eventually take its toll, so it’s important for parents to avoid the ADHD burn-out by practicing self-care. Many parents feel guilty for practicing self-care, but practicing self-care is not selfish. If you don’t feel like you have time to practice self-care, that is exactly when you need to. We know finding the time to practice self-care between school, work, family, and extracurricular activities are hard, and adding one more thing to the plate may seem overwhelming. But when you are operating at half-capacity, it becomes harder to deal with their behaviors.  By taking care of yourself first, you have the ability to provide the best care for your child, which we know is what you want to do. Our first recommendation for self-care is to find someone you can talk to and who will listen. Whether that is a support group for parents of ADHD child, a family member, or a friend, whomever you choose, make sure they will listen without giving a lot of opinions, and only when you ask for it.  Our second recommendation for self-care is to take a break and find something that rejuvenates you. It doesn’t need to be time-intensive or requires a lot of stuff. It could be making yourself a cup of tea, a bubble bath, reading a book, take a short break, or take a nap.  Taking a break doesn’t have to happen just once a day. You can set up small breaks throughout the day. Our third recommendation is to get enough sleep. Without sleep, your ability to help your child is greatly diminished as you have nothing to give them. Our fourth recommendation is to have regular check-ups with your doctor. Being an ADHD mom is hard and regularly checking in with your doctor allows you to evaluate your mood and what is going on. This is one area where we tend to be terrible at. We take our kids to the doctors, but often we put off going ourselves.  We encourage you this week to find a few ways that you can add self-care and avoid ADHD and caretaker fatigue and ADHD burnout. If you have any great self-care ideas that you’d like to share with other ADHD parents, please send us a message. [email protected]