Parents · Caring for Yourself, Too
You Cannot Pour From an Empty Cup
Supporting someone else's mental health without tending your own eventually runs out.
Caregivers — parents, partners, close friends — often quietly deprioritize their own wellbeing while supporting someone through a hard season. It feels selfish to focus on yourself when someone you love is struggling more visibly. Left unaddressed, that pattern tends to produce caregiver burnout, which helps no one, including the person you're trying to support.
Your own support system matters here too — a friend, a therapist, a space to say the hard things you can't say to the person you're caring for, for their sake. That's not a betrayal of them. It's what allows you to keep showing up.
Taking care of yourself while caring for someone else isn't a lesser priority. It's what makes the caring sustainable.