How Guilt-Ridden Caregivers Can Set Limits

By

Barry J. Jacobs, AARP

“We all have multiple roles,” I am telling about a dozen family caregivers at this How to Care for Aging Parents workshop. “We aren’t just adult children to our aging parents, but we are

often spouses to our life partners. Parents to our children. Siblings. Aunts. Let alone dedicated workers in our jobs.” Several group members nod their heads in agreement. This idea makes

intuitive sense to them.

But then I add, “We can’t give all of ourselves to only one of our roles — being a family caregiver. We have to set limits on the time and energy we spend caregiving to conserve ourselves

for the other roles as well.” Their head nodding stops. No one speaks for a moment. They look uncomfortable. I’ve seen the same scenario play out in hundreds of other caregiver presentations

over the past 30 years. The thought of setting limits on caregiving is making them feel guilty. The crime? Being a bad daughter or son and letting a parent down.

The concern is understandable. Adult child caregivers generally want to be there in Mom’s hour of need to show their love and give back to her for all she has given them in their lives. But

none of them are comfortable with, say, putting off their teenage child who needs help with math homework or a relationship breakup or chronic anxiety because Mom is feeling lonely and wants

company. Caregivers may not have the capacity to provide all the help to all the family members who rely on them.

That’s the gravity that pulls would-be caregiving superheroes down to earth, forcing them to accept the normal reality of their limitations. As I explain to the attendees at this workshop, I

typically say to caregivers, “Everyone has limitations about what they are available, willing and able to do. What part of caregiving will be especially hard for you? What are your

limitations?”

The caregivers here are still quiet when I tell them that because all caregivers have limitations, it is a good idea for them to intentionally set limits on how much they give to any one

family member to try to be fair to all. I say this is the best way to sustain caregiving over time. A few of them look at me curiously. How can they set those limits, they seem to be asking,

in a way that causes minimal guilt? Here are some ideas.

Faced with their limitations, some caregivers try to overcome them — even making believe they don’t exist — by sleeping less and pushing themselves harder to do more for all the people they

feel responsible for. This often leads them to wear down and then feel guilty that they have “failed” or are insufficiently loving. If they are fortunate, at this point a sad truth will dawn

on them: It is impossible for them to be everything to everyone. As consolation, they do have the choice to be some things to everyone (e.g., call Mom on the phone but stay home to be near

the struggling teenager) or all things to someone (e.g., devote themselves to Mom but have a spouse care for the teen). Do such compromises still cause guilty feelings? Very much so. But

when there are no perfect options, the only pragmatic thing to do is to prioritize needs and choose to use your available energies for the most good in a given instance. Paradoxically,

exercising that power of choice can feel freeing.