My clients feel like you do.

Typically, they’re caring, understanding, and dependable. Since they became a caregiver, they’re tired, overwhelmed, frustrated and unhappy. They are grieving.

“Grief is visceral, not reasonable: the howling at the center of grief is raw and real. It is love in its most wild form…There is nothing wrong with grief. It’s a natural extension of love. It’s a healthy and sane response to loss. That grief feels bad doesn’t make it bad; that you feel crazy doesn’t mean you are crazy.” ― Megan Devine, It's OK That You're Not OK

When my clients first come in, despite doing their best to manage all the things: work, school, doctors appointments, driving, planning meals, caregiving, paying bills, friendships, relationships and all the other details - they still feel like they aren’t doing enough.

They are holding onto feelings of guilt, grief, denial, doubt, anger and resentment but feel like they can’t share that with anyone else because it’s too much. Yet when something goes wrong, they worry that maybe they didn’t do enough or it was somehow their fault. When things seem to be going well, they feel on edge. It feels like its just a matter of time until the other shoe drops or something else is going to go wrong.

Before they came to see me, they thought that they had to do it all and no one else would be able to handle it. They couldn’t hold in what they are feeling and thinking much longer. But they couldn’t tell anyone how they really felt because their friends and family couldn’t handle it. They wanted to take better care of themselves but couldn’t find the time or felt selfish when they did. And they were pretty certain other people have it worse or are busy too, so they didn’t want to ask for help or be a burden. They were suffering and in pain and trying to hide it. They needed support and weren’t getting it from the people and places they expected.

Like my clients, you may feel like grief and caregiving gets in the way of the life you want in so many ways:

• You can’t be the kind of daughter, son, partner or parent you want to be.

• Focusing at work and school feels hard. It’s difficult to make decisions.

• You don’t have the time or energy to take care of yourself.

• You feel like you’re failing.

• Your confidence is tanking because you don’t know how to handle this.

• You don’t have the bandwidth keep showing up to support everyone else and hold it all together.

• You feel like you can’t handle it all and something needs to change.

That’s where therapy with me comes in.

It is ok to stop feeling guilty and accept help so you can start enjoying your life again. You deserve to have space to talk about your feelings, ask questions, be heard and know that you’re not alone. If you want to let go of the guilt, stop feeling overwhelmed and be able to enjoy your life now, I’d love to help you get there. Contact me or schedule a free initial consultation to chat with me.

You don’t have to figure everything out on your own. I can help.