I hope you’re convinced to take more respite breaks! You might be resistant to respite despite recognizing respite as a decent strategy on an intellectual level. As you read this, your brain may start cycling through all the reasons you really can’t do that, or your person would never allow help from anyone else.
This is where the real work is for many care partners.
Allowing or denying yourself permission to take a break – that internal conversation you have with yourself – is key! Even if you know that taking occasional respite breaks makes sense on an intellectual level, it can be hard to do. The decision can be complex based on deep feelings and multiple factors.
Common forms of resistance are:
- “If I don’t do it, who will.”
- “He only likes me to take care of him.”
- “It’s my job and I don’t want to leave him.”
- “I don’t want anyone else in the house when I’m not here.”
- “No one else knows his schedule and how he likes things.”
- “What if something bad happens while I’m gone.”
- “She won’t eat if I’m not there.”
