Christine was so exhausted that she reached a point where she considered suicide.
Transcript
I helped her as much as I could up and down. And she’s a small woman and I am a small woman also, and I almost tripped helping her down the steps twice, and that scared me. And I also developed a lot of physical symptoms myself, of exhaustion and depression. And I got to the point that I thought I was losing my mind, and I considered suicide. And I heard of a crisis centre where I could go and spend 10 days, and meet with psychologists or psychiatrists twice a day; and for that you get lodging and meals, home-cooked meals, and just you could do whatever you wanted. You could sleep or read or watch TV, smoke cigarettes all day and all—well not all night. They had a curfew. And I went, and it was almost like a vacation to me because I didn’t have to think of what I had to make for dinner or cook it. But I had developed a stuttering—I was stuttering—and a tic in my eye and exhaustion and confusion and dark thoughts. Speaking to professionals helped me to maybe see more clearly and realize I needed more support.
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- Support from Employers, Colleagues, and Worker’s Compensation Boards – ChristineChristine is only allowed to use her sick days midweek even though a Monday or Friday would give her more recovery time.
- Advice to Healthcare Providers – ChristineChristine describes the potentially serious impacts of an insensitive conversation on a patient.
- Impacts on Partners and Households – ChristineChristine worries that she is often too sore to welcome physical contact from her husband.
- Support from family and friends – ChristineChristine’s sister criticized her for the way she was caring for their mother, and accused her of being selfish and abandoning their mother.
- Navigating the system – ChristineSometimes you don’t know about the helpful services that are out there, says Christine.
- Impact on professional life and career – ChristineChristine was so caught-up in caring for her mother that she never resolved her employment situation.
- Impact on health – ChristineChristine was so exhausted that she reached a point where she considered suicide.
- Hospitals and facilities – ChristineChristine realized she had to leave her mother’s home to protect herself. When she left, her mother moved to a care facility.
- Home care and live-in caregivers – ChristineInteraction with the home care staff was difficult for Christine’s mother as she kept meeting new people.