Burned out:(?!

Burned out:(?

What do you do when you've reached a point in your life when you feel burned out? I am a single parent rasing two wonderful boys. I go to school part-time and work full-time at a clinic. I am the nursing supervisor which involves alot of stress. As i sat in class last night...I came to the conclusion that I might be coming to the point of being burned out. What do you think I can do? The worst thing is I don't want to even to be a nurse anymore. And thats something I love to do.

You have a tremendous amount on your plate right now and it's not surprising you feel a bit "burned out". People who are caregivers in many aspects and roles in their life, such as you are at work and as a single parent especially, are at high risk for becoming emotionally depleted without some consistent method for replenishing what you give all the time. When you give continuously and don't "get", you get empty.
We have a group of therapists who work with a very difficult, high risk population who are on call most of the time. They have a unique strategy for avoiding burn-out which i think we could all find ways to employ in our lives. They have what they call "Narcissistic Day" once a month and do not see clients or take emergency calls (another team covers for them and they rotate and share coverage) and instead spend the day doing team building activities and take a break from the normal routine. It helps keep them fresh and energized and insures that they do not become drained emotionally or mentally. Perhaps you could work something out with another Mom or family member to "cover" for you for a day and take the day to just indulge yourself somehow that would give you a break from work and responsibility and allow you to focus on just taking care of you (or better yet, being taken care of-a day at a spa, a massage, a day to have lunch with friends and shop or paint, draw, etc) Make it a day that is totally sacred and special, perhaps monthly, where you do things you don't ordinarily do and that are totally different kinds of activities from your normal routine. Don't use it to catch up on sleep or tasks that have fallen behing or you'll end up feeling cheated. Just spend the day doing what you dream of doing! I'm really glad you posted this question as I may just take my own advice and a page from the book of those folks at our agency who really get it about self-care!!!