Being Closely Connected to Health Care Providers Experiencing Burnout: Putting One’s Life on Hold to Help

Abstract

Being closely connected to a person experiencing illness may be a trying experience.This study aimed to illuminate meanings of being closely connected to health care providers experiencing burnout. Ten interviews were conducted with five people closely connected (i.e., family members or supportive friends) to health care providers recovering from burnout. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and the resulting text was interpreted using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method. One consequence of being closely connected to health care providers experiencing burnout is putting one's life on hold to help. In facing an almost unmanageable burden, those closely connected revealed their own suffering, emphasizing their need for support. Health care professionals need to be aware that those who are closely connected to a person experiencing burnout may lack knowledge about burnout and its related challenges. It is to be hoped such knowledge would allow significant others to better support the person experiencing burnout and promote their own health.

Spouses’ Experiences of Rehabilitees’ Burnout and Recovery

“…These reactions correspond closely to the subjective dimensions of family burden, namely Subjective Distress and Health (Schene, 1990), and have been found extensively in earlier research (e.g., Fadden, Bebbington, & Kuipers, 1987;Tsang, Tam, Chan, 2003). Spouses in this sample also reported that their own mental well-being was jeopardized as a consequence of caring for the rehabilitee or taking over the majority of obligations carried out by the rehabilitee, a result consistent with prior research (Peiponen, 2015;Ericson-Lidman & Strandberg, 2010). The feelings of frustration reported in the present sample corresponded to the themes of Being resented and not listened to and Failing to help reported in Ericson-Lidman & Strandberg (2010).…”

“…Spouses in this sample also reported that their own mental well-being was jeopardized as a consequence of caring for the rehabilitee or taking over the majority of obligations carried out by the rehabilitee, a result consistent with prior research (Peiponen, 2015;Ericson-Lidman & Strandberg, 2010). The feelings of frustration reported in the present sample corresponded to the themes of Being resented and not listened to and Failing to help reported in Ericson-Lidman & Strandberg (2010). These circumstances produced a pronounced straining and draining situation for the spouses and exacerbated their suffering.…”

“…This role, however, could only be performed once the spouses had acquired the necessary knowledge of burnout and its symptoms, which, at least initially, was difficult. Difficulties in performing this task were also reported in the study by Ericson-Lidman and Strandberg (2010) as the significant others failed to understand what was happening. In the present sample, the spouses' awareness increased over time, thus enabling them to serve as monitors and counsel for the rehabilitee and to encourage them to seek timely help, a role of particular significance with respect to a possible future recurrence of burnout.…”

“…Although the studies mentioned above provide valuable knowledge about the experiences of people closely connected with burnt-out individuals, they explore the topic in a particular context (Peiponen, 2015) or take into account a specific occupational group of burnt-out individuals and a diverse sample of closely connected people (Ericson-Lidman & Strandberg, 2010). The present study contributes further to this research domain by approaching the topic from a slightly different perspective.…”

“…Family support has been established to mitigate burnout and secondary traumatic stress (Galek, Flannelly, Greene, & Kudler, 2011) and the role of emotional support provided by the spouse has been found to be significant in reducing burnout levels, especially for men (Livingston, 2014). The activities grouped under Support closely resemble those described in Ericson-Lidman and Strandberg's (2010) subtheme Striving to be there for the persons affected, which entailed prioritizing the affected person's needs, being protective and emotionally available.…”