Caregiver Burnout: Why You Feel "Wired" Then "Crash" (And How to Stop)

Are you running around like a headless chicken (Red Zone) or glued to the couch unable to move (Blue Zone)? As a caregiver, you probably swing between these two extremes without realizing why.

In this video, I explain the Ayurvedic concept of the "Gunas" of the mind—Rajas and Tamas—and how to stop the violent swing between anxiety and deep depletion so you can find your balance (Sattva) again. 

If you are struggling with caregiver burnout or  caregiver fatigue , understanding your energy type is the first step to feeling better.

This video is for anyone taking care of elderly parents or a loved one who feels the weight of caregiver stress . We discuss how to identify if you are stuck in "action mode" or "freeze mode" and simple, practical tools to regain your caregiver mental health.

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caregivers, are you running around like a headless chicken doing one thing to another or are you sometimes slumped in the couch and not being able to move.

If I had to guess, I'm pretty sure that you spend most of your days in one of these two mode.

Mode number one, you are the captain of the ship. You do everything for everybody. cooking, going to the appointment and making sure that everything is okay. You are running fast, but inside you may be feeling that that wire is pulling too tight.

And the other mode is the crash. The adrenaline runs out. You are on the couch, you don't want to talk. You barely can think. Basically, you are checked out.

If this sounds like your life right now, I want you to hear one thing. You're not crazy and you are not broken. You are simply swinging on what Ayurveda called the gunas of the mind. It's like a pendulum between fire on one side and having heavy stone in your pocket. on the other side.

I'm going to show you today how to stop that violent swinging from one mode to another.

Hi, my name is Jean-Francois. I'm a nurse and I have a health counselor, a Vedic Astologer and I help caregiver of aging parents or any caregivers really getting grounded and stable and steady so they can take care of the person they love the most.

And in today's video, we're going to talk about the gunas of the mind, What's the concept? How do you recognize when you are in one mode? How do you recognize when you are in the other mode? and what to do to avoid to go too far on one side or to the other.

let's keep it simple.

we don't look at mental health as being good or bad. We think of it as

three different energy for your entire operating system. We call that Rajas, Tamas, and Sattva.

Don't worry about the Sanskrit name, but think of it as Rajas, like the gas pedal in your car. It's action, passion, movement. Tamas is the brake, so it's rest, it's heaviness.

And the third one is Sattva. Sattva is the steering wheel. give you clarity and directions.

So as a caregiver, you need all of three. You need the gas pedal to do the thing that needs to be done for your loved one, But you also need the brake to sleep at night, for example.

the problem with caregiving is sometimes we get stuck in one mode or the other and and we forget that we have the steering wheel to direct things.

All right, so let's talk about the first energy, the energy of as the red energy. So if you are feeling Rajas at the moment, please comment red, and we can start a conversation.

you know you are getting stuck in the energy of rajas when you are eating your lunch standing over the sink in the kitchen and you eat your lunch in three minutes.

You know that you are getting stuck in a just when you snapped your loved one for just being some tea or something like that.

and you know that you are stuck in Rajas when you're getting to bed at night, but your mind is actually flying high at 40,000 feet and already planning and doing all the stuff.

This isn't just stress. This is an overheated you feel that if you stop, you're just going to fall apart.

if this is you, stop trying to relax by sitting on the couch and scrolling on your phone because scrolling on the phone is just going to add up to the movement, add up to the noise

What you need is some grounding. And the best things you can do for that is just for three minutes lying down on the floor. If you have a yoga mat.

Or go to your bed for three minutes and really lie down, close your eyes and feel the support of the bed or the support of the floor on your mind. that's through reminding your body and your mind is going to be reminded as well that you are supported.

another really good things to do sometimes. So what I really like is just wash your hand with warm water and just focus on your hand or the sensation of the hot water on your hand we want to bring you back in the body

again, if you are frantically stuck in that red zone, put the word red in the comment and we can start a conversation.

So let's talk about the other side of the pendulum, which is the energy of time mass. And we're going to call it the blue energy to make it simple. So again, if you feel that you are stuck in that energy, please comment blue, and we can start a conversation.

on the other side of the pendulum, you are lying down on the couch, not able to move, your phone is ringing, you don't even look at the phone because you know that you're not going to answer You basically neglect your basic need. maybe you did not even shower today.

and you had cookie for breakfast, for lunch, and likely you're gonna get cookie for dinner as well. you feel numb, you are not happy, you don't have that energy to do anything. you just feel heavy.

So I need you to hear some things very clearly. Tamas is not laziness. It's a biological freeze response. the system just wants to shut down to protect you.

the mistake that we do most of the time is that we are trying to whip that tired horse

I'm going to get 3 cups of coffee and I'm going to get going. Well, that would be a mistake and if you want to know more, look at my video about coffee and sugar not being the answer to your tired mind.

So basically when you want to get out of that state of heaviness, the first thing to do is stand up from the couch. This is the first step. That's a very easy one. Then maybe open the window and you're going to get that fresh air hitting your face and that will wake you up. Then maybe put on some music and dance a little bit or simply you can move your hand like that. You can move your head a little bit.

you need to stimulate the circulations to wake up the engine. again, if you feel that you are stuck into that blue energy,

please just write blue in the comment and then we can start a conversation.

So if Rajas is that firing energy and Tamas is having that sensation of having like heavy stone in your pocket, so what is Sattva? Sattva is clarity. And again, it's that steering wheel because when you get into Sattva, you have the sensations that your hands are on the steering wheel and you are giving some directions.

sattva is not being perfect. Crisis will still happen. But when it happened, you have the sensation that you have your hands on the wheel you are driving in the right directions.

Sattva is a little bit like waking up at 2 a.m. in the morning.

and instead of feeling panic or resentment, you just feel love. You know that you are capable. You are the eye of the storm.

We can't live in sattva 24-7. After all, we are human

to visit the sattvik energy or to use the sattvik energy as much as you can. And the thing that you can do is just catching yourself.

If you feel the heat of Rajas rising up in your body and in your mind, try to ground yourself. if you feel that Tamas starts rolling your body

Move your body before it freezes.

So in the next couple of days, try to notice Where is the pendulum? And trying to bring it back. by grounding yourself.

if you feel the heat of Rajas and some anxiety rising you can use my video on Nadi Shodana to cool down the engine. and if you feel that the blue energy of Tamas is rolling into your body, put on some music, dance a little bit

and your energy will circulate again in your body and in your mind.

I'm looking forward to hear from you in the comments.

you can book an Ayurvedic assessment with me and we can check how we can manage your different energy.

I wish you the best because you deserve the best. And I'm looking forward to see you in the next video.