What does caregiver burnout look like when you're caring for an aging parent while raising your own children?

In the Season 2 premiere of Sandwiched, Carrie Horn shares her experience as a sandwich generation caregiver and what she learned about caregiver guilt, burnout, respite care, self-care, grief, and giving yourself grace.

When Carrie's mother could no longer live independently after a heart attack and congestive heart failure diagnosis, Carrie faced a life-changing decision. As an only child raising two young daughters, she invited her mother into her home and stepped fully into the realities of the sandwich generation.

Carrie joins host Paul H. Richardson, Jr. for an honest conversation about what caregiving really looked like behind the scenes. She reflects on balancing the needs of her mother, daughters, marriage, career, and herself, and how the demands of caregiving eventually led her to recognize the effects of caregiver burnout.

She also opens up about the guilt that can come with caring for two generations at once. When she was with her mother, she worried about not being with her children. When she was with her children, she worried about not being there for her mother.

Her message to other caregivers is simple: give yourself grace. You will not do everything perfectly, and doing the best you can has to be enough.

The conversation also explores self-care, respite care, accepting help, grief, and Carrie's process of reconnecting with herself after her mother's death. Carrie shares both the challenges of the journey and the meaningful moments her family gained from having her mother at home, including celebrating her 75th birthday together just weeks before she passed away.


IN THIS EPISODE

• Becoming a caregiver while raising young children
• Life in the sandwich generation
• Recognizing caregiver burnout
• The guilt of being pulled between two generations
• Why accepting help can be so difficult
• Self-care and respite care
• Grief and identity after caregiving ends
• Finding meaningful moments in the middle of caregiving
• Why caregivers need to give themselves grace


RESOURCES

Wellabe: Senior Care & Caregiving
Resources and information for families navigating senior care and caregiving:
https://www.wellabe.com/blog/care

6 Ways to Stop Caregiver Burnout Before It Starts
Additional guidance on recognizing and preventing caregiver burnout:
https://www.thecjway.biz/learn/6-ways...


ABOUT SANDWICHED

Sandwiched is a podcast about the lived experience of caregiving and the parts of caring for the people we love that often go unsaid.

Through honest conversations with people who have been there, host Paul H. Richardson, Jr. explores family, work, identity, relationships, grief, guilt, love, resilience, and the complicated realities of caregiving.

Sandwiched is powered by Tumbleweed, an AI-powered aging and caregiving platform helping families proactively navigate caregiving, planning, and life's transitions.

Learn more about Tumbleweed:
https://tumbleweedplan.com

If Carrie's story resonates with you, share this episode with another caregiver who may need to hear it.

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#Caregiving #CaregiverBurnout #SandwichGeneration